tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61722002012-01-29T15:58:33.897-08:00esrosedotblogRants and Ruminationsesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.comBlogger88631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-45970000055632534932012-01-29T15:34:00.001-08:002012-01-29T15:58:33.932-08:00THE BIRDSToday's gay favorite was the modern version of La Cage.Birdcage (1996)Same story. Almost the same basic script but augmented by Elaine May's peppering of smart lines.Cast this time is Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane and Dianne Wiest. All great fun. Best change is Hank Azaria wonderfully as the fem houseboy. Perfect. Hispanic accent and all.It is not fair to compare as in this esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-45381078691679276352012-01-29T15:17:00.000-08:002012-01-29T15:33:41.349-08:00ON THE SPOTThere is no doubt in my mind that the US has teams of commandos in Iran as I type.And everywhere else. And this will expand.Friends of SEALS families know that there is always something afoot. And now there will be even more.All the stuff I learned in the military, now 50 years ago, is long gone.I was in the Quartermaster Corps. Not the safest place to be as you had to be out there esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-35134178657490965862012-01-28T20:18:00.000-08:002012-01-28T20:21:00.093-08:00UNKNOWN HISTORYThe story of the water evacuation of Manhattan, 091101.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-21005638151205991092012-01-28T15:26:00.000-08:002012-01-28T15:45:42.696-08:00DIAMONDSToday is my 75th birthday. Diamonds.I have a lot of calls and cards and happy birthdays face to face. Fifty? A hundred people? I went to a Meeting this morning.A lot because I tell everyone it is my birthday and then they say that I don't look like it.I don't.It is a bit of a racket and it is a great experience. I have learned that if you don't tell people it is your birthday ON your esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-71530278326972486172012-01-28T14:49:00.000-08:002012-01-28T15:26:39.305-08:00SWISSSSSHToday's favorite gay film wasLe Cage Aux Folles (1979)The original one which I saw when it came out.In those days, it made me uncomfortable because of the stereotypes involved but then I got over it.When I was first out I didn't want anyone thinking I was obvious. How watching a movie of obvious queers would somehow make me fem is a bit mysterious but that was my bent (!) with thinking esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-46394832022904953632012-01-27T18:14:00.000-08:002012-01-27T18:35:10.028-08:00"AS LONG AS THER'S LOVE THERE'S HOPE"Todays gay film was the ThaiRak haeng Siam / The Love of Siam (2007)All kinds of love in this but it centers on two young boys who, as best friends then adolescents feel strong homoerotic feelings for one another. Affection and more although they are unable to consummate their love in actual sexual form. Parents and friends all in the throes of loving esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-59138381373507425582012-01-26T19:35:00.000-08:002012-01-26T19:36:27.120-08:00SELF INFLICTEDesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-65428281946821045182012-01-26T18:22:00.000-08:002012-01-26T18:23:54.475-08:00A SEQUEL I MIGHT BE WILLING TO SEE!esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-38967508741860759572012-01-26T14:48:00.000-08:002012-01-26T15:09:24.228-08:00TIME CAPSULEToday's gay film is the East GermanComing Out (1989)This is the first gay film to be made in the People's Republic. The day it was released, the Berlin Wall came down. Out and down.A teacher comes out and faces all the dilemmas and conflict that I personally remember. He has a previous history of gay action, relationships but pushes that down. He meets a girl and begins a serious esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-49983209772697660992012-01-25T14:45:00.000-08:002012-01-25T14:56:47.735-08:00CUTToday's film was a haircut.Seven weeks. Too long. Time and hair.Now we know. Six weeks would be fine.He left it a bit longer. Good.I am still a little uptight about the whole thing.Too much going on.If it were up to me I would hire him to come to the house and do it on the back patio. Not likely.But it is OK.I will stay with long hair for awhile.No. This place doesn't look like a barber shop. esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-91583283693223895232012-01-25T14:39:00.000-08:002012-01-25T14:45:40.347-08:00SOTUI stayed up last night to watch and think about Obama's State of the Union address.I liked it a lot.Very practical in its way. He put up a lot of concrete proposals, some he can do himself, others will require Congress. I don't think any of those will see the light of day but perhaps he can wring out a few.It was obviously a template for the campaign. Which is good.He is going to make them esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-34518575069809742312012-01-24T15:01:00.000-08:002012-01-24T15:05:31.451-08:00I am giving it up for the State of the Union message. The last one of this term. Four more to come.C U Tomorrow.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-62317511357034463342012-01-24T14:48:00.000-08:002012-01-24T15:01:24.162-08:00FATHER, SON AND LOVERNot all the same people. But three people coming to terms with their life together. And apart.Gay favorite for a long time. But not on the list. On my list.The Sum of Us (1994)Australian "comic" Jack Thompson (father), the young Russell Crowe (son) and John Polson (lover).The Dad is "gay friendly" almost to a fault. Nearly drives the lover away, he is so nice. We do expectesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-59374042194112159862012-01-23T14:34:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:53:56.706-08:00LOVE IN WARToday's Israeli film was number 34 in the gay favorite list.Yossi and Jagger (2002)One hour story of two officers in an army outpost who, in love, must hide their affair from others. Stress from the fact that one reports to the other. The CO committed to a military career. the subordinate leaves the unit soon.And if that isn't enough there is a "hot ambush" to be carried out that esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-11208422514398693542012-01-22T19:41:00.000-08:002012-01-22T19:42:11.380-08:00GOOPERSesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-4568378883253153602012-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:002012-01-22T17:20:10.933-08:00BAIN PAINMitt Romney Misery in a Word: BainIt is interesting about Romney. His entire success was based, well first on his Dad' reputation and politics, then in his work at Bain. There are two Bains incidentally. I won't go into that. It is just another way to split the loot between one and the other. To be fair, one is consulting and the other is investment but they are still branches of the esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-5904836308914705062012-01-22T15:15:00.001-08:002012-01-22T15:29:33.050-08:00ASKING AND TELLINGToday's Japanese film by Nagisa Ôshima wasGohatto / Taboo (2002)A military academy in the Shogunate. New recruits are being screened. Two to be chosen on the basis of merit. One of the two is gay in a bit of flamboyance he wears white and has long hair. But oh, can that boy work the sticks/swords.He is one of two chosen and right at the start the other recruit tries to seduce esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-55513662719660102232012-01-22T09:08:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:23:06.963-08:00WINDBLOWNDamage Widespread Following High WindsFor about four hours yesterday we got hurricane force winds, west to east, and a fairly serious sand/dust storm.We only lost power for a few minutes but others might still be out.The damage is pretty bad. I can headcount ten trees in our "walking park" at the library which are down and gone. Dead. This is the second or third serious blow in as many esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-74151161061659112842012-01-21T15:07:00.000-08:002012-01-21T15:37:03.042-08:00TIME CAPSULEToday's Gay Favorite film was the classicThe Boys in the Band (1970)Ground breaking, controversial, gay in your face document of the closeted life.And we haven't shut up since.There were years I could not look at this film as it seemed politically incorrect and then not and now, finally, a great sigh of relief to see it, acknowledge it and identify with it as true now as it was true esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-13981038781673280542012-01-20T14:58:00.000-08:002012-01-20T15:06:40.242-08:00OVER THE BUMPI have made a call, received a few calls, listened to email and more or less figured out how to handle all the phoney stuff on my new cell phone.The main trouble has been fat fingers. All thumbs. Hitting the wrong key.I figure that I had to make, at least, this step into the new device world. The only key phone they had was more like a brick than a phone. Cream colored so, I suppose,esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-29168267013970955642012-01-20T14:21:00.001-08:002012-01-20T14:42:20.609-08:00CROOKEDToday's gay film is really a film for all people. Not on the best list. I grabbed it out of the "to see" bin and put it in this collection.Echte Kerle / Regular Guys (1996)A cop's girl friend throws him out and through a series of circumstances ends up staying the night with a kind stranger who he meets in a bar. It is a gay bar. He is very drunk. A blackout.Waking up in the morning, he esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-33818609072923628682012-01-20T07:25:00.000-08:002012-01-20T07:28:40.585-08:00DAMN, HE CAN SING TOOLast night at the Apollo! He just sealed the (older) black vote.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-14361890794532475822012-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:002012-01-19T15:32:13.753-08:00ON TRACKToday's gay film was The Trip (2002) This is an old favorite of ours. It is melodrama, it is a little cheesy and it is a little awkward here and there. It got bad reviews. But it resonated with us and a lot of other gay men who were in the closet.This guy is so far in that he is a republican and straight. He writes an antihomo book but it is not published.It only comes out after five esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-88231171375557640252012-01-18T18:35:00.000-08:002012-01-18T19:00:34.383-08:00QUIET BROKENDid I say that nothing was happening?All that went by the board today.John wanted to get an iPhone which, for reasons which are a bit more than I can summarize here, involved switching services from Verizon to ATT.So far, I am an innocent bystander.Now add. My old phone won't work on ATT so I need a new one.I fought, I wiggled, I swallowed hard but went along bravely proclaiming that esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-51564598297652578202012-01-17T18:44:00.000-08:002012-01-17T18:45:31.655-08:00LONG LONG FORMesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-43607132226463377222012-01-17T15:22:00.000-08:002012-01-17T18:05:49.458-08:00SYNCHRONICITYLook it up.I have a friend who is all about this.Any coincidence, any agreement between people who had been at odds, any anything that comes out the same at the same time is synchronous. Well, yeah. And not only that it has some cosmic significance. The ether. It is not religious though. It is like aligned planets or something.It is like my cereal. All the brands that I eat, 6 in esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-58577597040810560792012-01-17T14:57:00.000-08:002012-01-17T15:09:06.924-08:00FAVORITEToday's film was a favorite of all "the gays" but it is also one of my most favorite films. I have seen it several times and I read the book it is based on many times.I am not sure why this film fascinates me so as it is diluted from the book but it captures the spirit and force of the original thoughts behind it.Boy Culture (2006)It is character driven using the device of the main esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-60221885728173473672012-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:002012-01-16T19:34:10.569-08:00UNDERGROUND EASTEResrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-27696310243132202122012-01-16T15:06:00.000-08:002012-01-16T15:15:52.020-08:00TITANYou know, I have spent a lot of time disparaging Microsoft and Bill Gates. It is a MacThing to do. You know, pick sides, Mac vs. PC.But when it comes to the real goods, Bill Gates walks the talk.Look at this infographic.Bill Gates has given away half his fortune, 28 Billion Dollars, since 2007, saving 6 million lives.Had he not done this, he would, today, be the richest man in the world.Thisesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-2986356531438192162012-01-16T14:35:00.001-08:002012-01-16T14:49:42.286-08:00MY STORYToday's gay favorite film wasMaking Love (1982)A married man, a doctor, finds himself acting on feelings for other men and quickly falling in love when he meets an openly gay man in his practice.A timeless story.But, for the first time presented fairly and squarely in a fully realized studio movie. With Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean, it was certainly seen by every gay manesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-23831842189845294242012-01-15T14:34:00.000-08:002012-01-15T14:45:30.103-08:00BISKEPTICALToday's movie was the 34th favorite "favorite gay movies" which requires its showing.Eating Out (2005)This is funny and a bit sentimental but depends on the sexual confusion of a straight guy with a gay roommate who says he is gay to get close to a fag hag who is involved with a gay roommate who, in fact is in love with the straight guy's roommate who is in love with him but we don't esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-41782754525258889462012-01-14T18:09:00.000-08:002012-01-14T18:13:23.602-08:00ROMNEY ON WRONG TRACKAnd he knows it too. Listen to the crack in his voice when he makes this blatantly absurd statement.Even Rudy knows.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-72365916631731103712012-01-14T14:25:00.000-08:002012-01-14T14:56:12.541-08:00ART ON RUNToday's gay favorite is actually not on the list. I added it.Caravaggio (1986).Derek Jarman, now gone, wrote and directed this film about an Italian Baroque artist about whom little is known. Except for his work and the shadows of scandal surrounding his affairs with a street tough and a whore. A triangle. Bisexual but very much on the gay side.Look, there is no figuring out the plot asesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-9431073238009882892012-01-13T15:53:00.000-08:002012-01-13T16:03:10.740-08:00BAD BOYS!I don't think I told you that our neighbor on the east has rented his condo to an older couple from Minnesota for two months. We don't see a lot of them. Old couples from Minnesota are not notoriously noisy and bothersome.We had the boys come over, two friends who help us out with the heavy lifting or climbing. Two Steves. Husbands.They came to take down the holiday lights. We were very esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-26415369765420924312012-01-13T15:35:00.000-08:002012-01-13T15:53:17.309-08:00DOCUDRAMAToday's gay interest film wasA Bigger Splash (1974).This film was a phenom when it came out. It was a movie about a real man, master artist David Hockney with his friends acting out a story which might or might not be true but was pretty close to what was happening to them. Psychodrama? Some of it seems so.That Hockney was and is homosexual necessitated a pretty open telling and showing esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-76433596967545071392012-01-12T14:53:00.001-08:002012-01-13T15:35:26.776-08:00GAY FILMSIf you are just coming in to the blog, the reason that I am seeing all these gay films is that I stumbled on a list of the 50 most popular films that gay people listed on a poll.Then I added some of my own to the list.We are just beginning the list so this will last for awhile. 3-4 months. Did you know that there were so many gay films out there? And I didn't find them all by any means.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-81658558230852829182012-01-12T14:51:00.000-08:002012-01-12T14:52:50.748-08:00CULTURE CLASHToday's favorite gay film was the Montreal madeMambo Italiano (2003)This is a fun movie. A fiercely Italian family with a gay son who tries living in the closet and then comes out with dire results. The shit hits the fan with mom and dad. A sympathetic sister, most of the time, and a closety lover complicate things. Especially when the two mothers get together.The one to watch in esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-90700678911205860542012-01-11T15:53:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:57:39.027-08:00I'M IN And have been since they started the campaign last year.I am delighted to see that my investment in the future has paid off already.Guess Which Candidate Was the Most Organized in New Hampshire?esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-37478525070715676322012-01-11T15:30:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:39:03.517-08:00CHAOS/OASISToday's gay favorite film wasThe Bubble (2006)Also a NYTimes Critics' Pick.This is a kind of Romeo and Juliet film only gay. And the warring families are the Palestinians and the Israelis.Two men, improbably fall in love. All love incidentally is improbable. If it is not surprising to the nth degree, it is not love.One is a Palestinian, the other Israeli.They and their friends from a esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-71341647955310759432012-01-11T15:22:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:23:03.267-08:00FIFTIETH YEAR IN SHOW BUSINESSesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-4405997533700011262012-01-10T15:30:00.000-08:002012-01-10T15:34:48.132-08:00MATCH GAMEesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-79842338723029032652012-01-10T15:08:00.000-08:002012-01-10T15:17:37.691-08:00VETTEDToday's movietime was switched to veterinary time. Booker's 6 month checkup.He is always such a good boy and, for this session, we were able to see Dr. Burbank, an old friend. He is away in the summer.Normal everything.Booker's weight was a little high, more the midpoint between his highest and lowest. 85 pounds. He is a big boy.We decided to check the small "growth" on his one side and it esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-87342645929247437942012-01-09T14:18:00.000-08:002012-01-09T16:34:18.630-08:00GAY CON MANToday's gay favorite is a NYTimes Critics' Pick. I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregorThis is necessarily a Jim Carrey vehicle. It is unlikely anyone else could credibly play this true but incredible character, a brilliantly successful sociopath and serial liar.McGregor's mild, blond and blue eyed innocent Phillip Morris is also a necessary counterweight to esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-16885644033350911232012-01-09T05:26:00.000-08:002012-01-09T05:37:34.716-08:00LOOTI bet this is the reason that Newt doubled down on his candidacy last week. Perry too.PAC Ads to Attack Romney as Predatory CapitalistThis is amusing. It used to be that being a predatory capitalist was a good thing. All the GOoPers sucked up to them. Passed their tax laws, set up or destroyed regulations they didn't like.This is mean stuff. I had heard about the movie.Adelson, the donor, hasesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-35035340175514239672012-01-08T15:06:00.000-08:002012-01-08T15:27:51.504-08:00NOT A GAY DAYAlthough Takeshi Kaneshiro is a sexy devil.I had ordered all his films a while ago and this one was on "very long wait" for a very long time. Three months or more?I finally got my turn and interrupted the gay favorite films forFayajo / Sleepless Town (1998)This is a relentless chase through the complexities of a gang war in Chinese Tokyo.It takes a while to catch on but once it gets esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-30147402423498572562012-01-08T09:35:00.000-08:002012-01-08T15:06:07.525-08:00NO, I AM TIREDI got a chain email (at the bottom) from a guy we used to see in the Caribbean every year. He has stayed in touch via christmas card.He doesn't know what I think or who I am. If he did he wouldn't have sent me this shit.So, for once, I answered one of these things. And I hit "reply all". A big bunch of people.Fifty.Here it is.Dear LouA bit of research on Snopes shows this. esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-45764834492611276342012-01-07T15:36:00.000-08:002012-01-07T16:38:32.557-08:00MARYLAND "UNIONS"Nationally, SEIU has been on record supporting marriage rights for gay couples since 2004. The service workers union was heavily involved in New York last year when that state passed a same-sex marriage bill.In Maryland, labor leaders are hoping to build upon that momentum with a broader coalition. At a November convention, the AFL-CIO affiliates unanimously passed a resolution esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-56266874236346255862012-01-07T14:41:00.000-08:002012-01-07T15:38:30.375-08:00CAMPING OUTToday's gay film favorite wasThe Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)This film is probably not very good but it has long since superseded any close scrutiny from that particular angle. Ebert gave it only 2.5 stars out of 4.I went, stoned and probably drunk, to see it when it came out. We all went for the spectacle which came by word and mouth. We did it as a group which most people did foresrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-31948326595620523642012-01-06T14:41:00.000-08:002012-01-06T15:00:39.551-08:00REVOLUTIONSToday's gay film was Bertolucci'sThe Dreamers (2003) also a NYTimes Critics' Pick.I added this favorite film to the gay mix. It was not in the gay preference poll. It is not even very explicitly gay although the interaction of three young people holed up in a Paris lux apartment are three-some sexual enough to make it an example of any sexual arrangement.Its relevance to gay film is esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-91278810377349400142012-01-05T15:27:00.000-08:002012-01-05T15:40:13.564-08:00PRUNEDWe are getting our patio trees trimmed this afternoon.I had it done earlier last year, maybe October. Since family was coming early November I put it off.Much to my dismay, the one tree, a palo verde, sheds minute leaflets about that time and we have been deluged with them in the last three or four weeks. The worse place for them is in the fountain. What a mess.I had thought we might let itesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-2578854812686402422012-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:002012-01-05T15:12:13.414-08:00SHOOT! DEEP SHOOT!This is even funnier than the AT SEA below:ROMNEY GOES TO HECK!esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-19394246995468356642012-01-05T09:38:00.000-08:002012-01-05T09:47:01.904-08:00ROMNEY AT SEADana MIllbank has a great piece here about the "victory lap" Romney was supposed to have his first night in New Hampshire.Romney Out of ControlIt did not happen. The victory lap. questioners and hecklers stole it.Even John McCain could not help but mock him. McCain hates Romney but he also hates Gingrich and the latest aspirant, Santorum.It is a great read.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-52103650910955353572012-01-05T07:13:00.000-08:002012-01-05T14:15:24.827-08:00NEIGHBORHOODIn the last year, our neighborhood became part of the program to divide the city into neighborhoods with associations set up to foster participation. It is a good idea and keeps people involved. When you set up a "neighborhood" you get a set of "blade signs" which go on top of the street sign, designating the Neighborhood. A bit of pride and a good beginning activity. John designed esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-22946374732135103302012-01-04T19:32:00.000-08:002012-01-04T19:34:40.720-08:00WHERE'S ST. GEORGE WHEN WE NEED HIM?esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-8297274084717733822012-01-04T17:05:00.000-08:002012-01-04T17:26:24.608-08:00SKULLDUGGERYGood news / bad newsOur Home Owners Association (HOA) had an election in December. Board of directors.For the first time in living memory the East Side of our complex gained control of the board. Decidedly. Not close.Within minutes there was upset. The incumbents could not believe it. Did not accept it.We have a CPA who handles the whole process. The report is unmistakably the outcomeesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-59091357171050069992012-01-04T14:54:00.000-08:002012-01-04T15:06:22.952-08:00CHOICESToday's 50 favorite gay film wasUndertow (2009)Small fishing village, local guy falls in love with a visiting artist, lover dies when he falls into an undertow but reappears as a ghost. Only his lover is able to see or see him.Local legend dictates that when someone dies they get a goodbye and a burial at sea by a loved one. Otherwise they float between life and death.Since this can not esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-58223407935808598742012-01-03T17:29:00.000-08:002012-01-03T17:30:55.841-08:00FULL OF MITTActual Audio: Mitt Romney vs PBS from scottbateman on Vimeo.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-40491684260763947822012-01-03T15:01:00.000-08:002012-01-03T15:19:45.715-08:00HOMOCATHOLIC MELODRAMAToday's Fifty Gay Favorites wasLilies (1996)There is a lot going on in this picture.At its center is a mock trial for a Bishop who falsely accused another boy at his school for murder and arson. There is a clever ruse to get the bishop to the prison in which the lifer is now interned and from there we go to a reenactment by other prisoners of the original "crime" and other esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-50293402410611561582012-01-03T08:36:00.000-08:002012-01-03T09:00:50.337-08:00LIVINGI was very touched by these photos.What we can learn from old animalsIn some ways these photos are sad. In another, one can feel a victory.Some of the animals were abused. Most not.There is not a lot to say about them. They speak through the wonderful work of Isha Lesko.Here is a short film about Leskos' work.Elderly Animals: Photographs by Isa Leshko from Mark & Angela Walley on Vimeo.I esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-89725511705794326502012-01-02T18:11:00.000-08:002012-01-02T18:39:37.104-08:00END ZONEDAmericans can make a fad about anything and once that happens, a website is sure to follow.I am fascinated with this.My latest discovery is TEBOWINGFootball player, heavy christer, comes in toward the end of a game and performs miracles. Just like our lord and savior. Evidently. And in the spirit of the thing he drops to pray. The half kneel.I know that you know all about this but I am esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-88096969834120657572012-01-02T14:56:00.000-08:002012-01-02T15:18:33.152-08:00SIMMERINGToday's gayfilm was the Argentinian film by Marco BergerPlan B (2009)This fine, slow moving romance is a favorite.Two men dating the same girl on and off. One decides to seduce the other man to get him away from the girl. Odd, yes? But somehow director and cast, particularly the two men, weave a spell that lasts the full time of the film. Suspension of disbelief.Early on, both seducer esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-56966452467572014252012-01-01T18:06:00.000-08:002012-01-01T18:25:58.844-08:00FINISHED (FOR NOW)On December 31st, I finished a year of work on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.Yeh. I can say that here because we are only anonymous at the public level and, finally, they tell us that this isn't public. The internet is mostly a closed system and not open ended like movies, radio, television and the rest.OK. So I am in AA and have been sober for 32 years. You heard it esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-60511048662151205542012-01-01T17:07:00.000-08:002012-01-01T17:26:22.835-08:00OVEROnly the poinsettias remain. And the outside lights for which we will need help. Ladder climbers. Off limits for us.I will be going through the cards after dinner so that they can go into the recycle.Yes. I still keep track of who we send to and who sends to us. Or not.We had a nice holiday all round. Quiet. No mass teevee events either. Nice.The back east family is having their holiday esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-6456537749034373102012-01-01T15:04:00.000-08:002012-01-01T18:50:16.325-08:00A LONG TIME COMING updated and updated again--this film really shook me up--in a good wayToday's gay film was The Edge of Seventeen (1998)This film has perfect pitch. It may be the 80s and this guy is seventeen but it is the same deal. Fundamentally, every gay man has the same coming out story.It is the obligatory part of any social connection. We go over each other's stories and compare them, esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-3540772984663932932012-01-01T08:32:00.000-08:002012-01-01T15:24:09.026-08:00MINICLIMATECHANGE We are just back from the Sunday walk. Fun.Incredible light as the sun "moved down the mountain". Very clear.We wait now for the sun because, for us, it is quite cold. Low 50s today.And colder still before.We are headed toward a ten degree warming trend, the usual January jump. All week, afternoon highs in the 70's. Good for business.Normal enough.But in the night, patches of esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-75501829073614559522011-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:002012-01-01T09:05:31.716-08:00ADOLESCENCEToday's gayish film was André Techine'sLes Roseaux Sauvages / Wild Reeds (1994)Sexual awakenings among a group of four young adults aimed mostly in the wrong directions, where no individual gets who s/he wants but manages to make a good friend and learn some important lessons. Ageless.What is different here is that everything, including the gay kid, who is the one we are rooting for, esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-80062232178649677582011-12-30T15:16:00.000-08:002011-12-30T15:31:04.653-08:00NOSTALGIA PIECEToday's gay film is a film made out of a playJeffrey (1995)Because we were there it still rings some bells but so much has changed that while Paul Rudnick's good humor still works, the drama falls flat in today's environment. Things have moved so quickly.Does anyone with HIV die? Yes. But today it is more a surprise than a plague with no relief.We saw the play nearly 20 years ago esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-42302136473172588322011-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:002011-12-29T17:34:18.236-08:00MERCHANTSThe mattress experience also presented a new world of department store buying.Macy's.It is a peerless service machine. Nice people. Good prices. Extreme followup, emails, guarantees. Even the delivery men were handsome! And we had the mattress less than 24 hours after we bought it.I used to work for the Federated and Allied chains of big name stores. They did not own the stores per se esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-330266272384968692011-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:002011-12-29T15:16:53.096-08:00LYING DOWN IIThe mattress got delivered this morning and I was on it taking a nap within the first hour.It works fine. And looks great.A realization occurred to me today. An insight that had almost passed by me.We went into a big Macy's yesterday, two men, and went to the mattress department where we both got on six beds (three models, each or "plush") and then did it again and then went back andesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-55898962432937688782011-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:002011-12-29T14:58:32.983-08:00FANTASMAGORIAToday's gay favorite film was Todd HaynesThe Velvet Goldmine (1998)A post modern musical! Featuring the music of the David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust period.Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale and Toni Collette.A swirl of songs, some real, some original. A framework like Citizen Kane. Bisexual romping. A surrealist story that feels like a high. They tell you to turn the esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-34576789787340347212011-12-28T17:11:00.000-08:002011-12-28T17:17:55.277-08:00PERRY GIGGLEStraight off the press.“Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don’t have to buy from a foreign source,” Mr. Perry said in Clarinda, earning a loud round of enthusiastic applause.I can't imagine why the Republicans aren't rallying around this guy. He's perfect for them........Hunter at Daily Kos.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-45102478403812705262011-12-28T14:32:00.000-08:002011-12-28T14:55:48.826-08:00TAKE IT LYING DOWNToday's "movie" was a 90 minute trip to Macy's in Palm Desert to make the final decision on a new mattress.Our "old" mattress is 16 year's old. 6 years over the guarantee.John had prepped for it. Our options were narrowed by the fact that we have a bed with wood slots. Our old bed was slatted too. European beds.So we came down to just a few options. No inner spring needed. esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-50266436989897517922011-12-27T17:40:00.000-08:002011-12-28T15:23:59.888-08:00ASS.ENTIONUPDATEThis has been pulled. I am sorry you can't see it. During the Hallelujah Chorus, costumed choristers face de' Lawd all fancy and nice in white and as the Hallelues commence, they start to hoist him up by a harness strap device. We know this because, as he rises, he begins to revolve and we see his back and ass strapped into the gear. Aware of this and also uncomfortable, faux esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-3873031717603208852011-12-27T16:28:00.000-08:002011-12-27T16:40:58.293-08:00BLOGGING BLACK HOLEI don't seem to be able to get back to the blogging what with the holiday and all.Distracted.Or a block.We had a good weekend. Nothing to report.Small stuff.Now the holiday seems to be extending itself. Nothing to do but everything to do.To break the tedium we are going tomorrow to buy a new mattress. John did recon and, as it turns out, there are only two mattresses, good onesesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-35701628500172359122011-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:002011-12-27T15:06:51.820-08:00COMPENDIUMToday's favorite gay film wasThe Celluloid Closet (1995)This documentary was based on Vito Russo's book of the same name. It shows the history of gay film through clips and narration.One of Edison's first sound movie demonstrations shows a violinist and two guys from the workshop dancing together. And they are serious.The film shows the early openly gay scenes, the evolution of the esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-10381154462659630592011-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:002011-12-26T14:33:04.101-08:00THIRD WHEELToday's gay film wasRedwoods (2009)There is nothing about this story that is gay. Except the great actors. It is a conventional grand affair in the middle of a marriage film. They have been making these for years for "the straights". Which is not a criticism. I rather enjoyed seeing this story done with men with the straight woman sidekicks having all advice and concerns and all. Thereesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-37058570741579841132011-12-25T09:24:00.000-08:002011-12-25T15:39:41.601-08:00MOMToday's gay film was one we enjoyed before:Le Fil / The String (2009)Sadly this wonderful little gay film went straight (!) to DVD. At least we get to see it here. A son returns to be with his recently widowed mother in Tunis. He is an architect. He falls in love with the handy man who his mom has hired. Conveniently, the handyman has had the same reaction. They fall in love. Mom does not esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-54890263467949927632011-12-24T19:35:00.000-08:002011-12-24T19:48:41.714-08:00SANTAThere must be some old holiday juice in me yet.I am tuned to NORAD to follow the Norad Santa fly around the world. I have done this forever. There are a lot of improvements to this site but it is still the same old idea. It gets most exciting when he gets close to our door. WE are gong to bed early.NORAD Santa 2011esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-18346557205891017642011-12-24T16:16:00.000-08:002011-12-24T16:45:42.466-08:0012/24-74It has been a busy time but not much because of the holidays.Tuesday was my very last MIT interview. I got on request after the 10th which is the last day they can do it. She said she had it ready but never hit the send key. But, late is late.My last interview was not the best but it is not the worst. Done. They are not there to entertain me.Then there is a haze in which I saw a movie andesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-54681162008559659062011-12-24T15:12:00.000-08:002011-12-24T15:28:12.770-08:00AMISTodays gay fest film is by Zabou Breitman. L'homme de sa vie / The Man of My Life (2006)This unconventional film shows the forces of love as they play across the growing friendship or two men, one straight, one gay and their families.Close neighbors on vacation in the country, running together, spending long evening bull sessions, the men bond in a unique way that causes some serious problemsesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-87958205915266924482011-12-22T14:31:00.000-08:002011-12-22T15:05:30.374-08:00THREESOMEToday's gayfest film was Ang Lee'sThe Wedding Banquet (1993)Gay films often use the farce template in which a gay couple is about to be visited by out of town parents, who haven't a clue they are gay. The gay guys decide to hide who they are. How they do this and how they resolve it is the story of the film. We will probably see five more films that have this premise.Ang Lee chose to useesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-25986978424898239082011-12-22T08:37:00.000-08:002011-12-22T08:53:14.526-08:00DARKEST MOMENTToday at some time I can't figure out from the Universal Time (let me look on the converter).YIKESIt was last night21:20:00 Wednesday December 21, 2011 in America/Los_Angeles.Anyway.Here is woman made version of Stonehenge from APOD.Explanation: Today the Sun stands still at 05:30 UT. Halting its steady march toward southern declinations and begining its annual journey north, the esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-23020273459885673992011-12-21T20:08:00.000-08:002011-12-21T20:09:37.153-08:00BIG GAY HISTORIC DAYVisit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economyesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-71467956378270905742011-12-21T14:33:00.000-08:002011-12-21T14:46:37.269-08:00POLYMORPHOUSWith a nod to the bi, lesbian and straight "communities" (where are those communities anyway), the Top Fifty Favorite Gay Films (TFFGF) begins with Gregg Araki'sKaboom (2010)starring Thomas Dekker and Haley Bennett.This is a wild ride combo college comedy, sex farce, horror flick, apocalyptic thriller and more. The funny thing is that Araki is able to do this mix and keep things esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-32181266114983843612011-12-20T18:17:00.000-08:002011-12-20T18:38:13.286-08:00BIZZZZ BIZZY NO BLOGGINGA long meeting this morning, a plethora of phone calls and difficult MIT interview writeup took up most of the day.And shopping at the grocery.More tomorrow and the beginning of the gay favorite gay film film festival. About 75 gay themed films, not one of them pornographic. Maybe silly or superficial but not dirty.They originated with a survey of the 50 most popular gay esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-34293102932648446022011-12-19T18:17:00.001-08:002011-12-19T18:20:24.463-08:00THE LAST PICTURE SHOWI grew up with various socialist despots. The cults of personality. North Korea is the last one.Father and son and now what?For now, mass hysteria.Some of these images are amazing. More in one place than I have ever seen before.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-47244694228007469472011-12-19T14:00:00.000-08:002011-12-19T14:30:30.275-08:00MIT TWICEThis is new.M.I.T. Expands Its Free Online CoursesThis is a big deal.The Institute has been offering on line course materials for quite awhile. OpenCourseWare. Over 100,000,000 people (astounding) have used it. Free.Now they are adding or adopting a new platform which will provide for lab work, sharing with others and a certificate at the end. Not a degree.There are two parallel esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-62834522252077060802011-12-18T18:37:00.000-08:002011-12-18T19:00:09.550-08:00NO REST FOR THE WEARYThe party last night did me in.It wasn't very successful for me I am afraid.The first three people I met, including one of the hosts greeted me with "I didn't think you would come" without John.Not, "Oh, We didn't expect to see you, how nice that you came."Then some people needed to go over how the guy we sold to is an asshole and his dogs keep barking and all of that. I esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-52369809837126391042011-12-17T17:14:00.000-08:002011-12-17T17:20:50.814-08:00FESTIVEJohn is in San Jose this weekend visiting his friends. Booker and I are at home.But, tonight is the annual holiday party at Tom and Dan's.Usually we go together and I slip out when I can't stand it anymore. About 20-30 monutes. John stays and I go later and pick him up.It is partly, the part I like, old neighbors who we left a year and a half ago.So, I will go alone. I thought about not esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-24821665217498843642011-12-17T16:59:00.000-08:002011-12-17T17:14:11.597-08:00FAMILY AFFAIRToday's film was Mike Leigh'sAnother Year (2010)A NYTimes Critics' Choice.A mid life couple with a great marriage live their lives with their son and others who they help get through difficulties that they have not seen for themselves. Because they have sad "yes" to life and their ability to be even tough love friends to others close to them, they grow in their own lives.The acting esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-84707273455144747052011-12-17T16:35:00.000-08:002011-12-17T16:58:27.955-08:00THE HITCHI am sorry for his death and suffering but I cannot say that will join the gang of admirers mourning Christopher Hitchens. I feel like Kevin Drum only more so. The Other Christopher HitchensI thought he was a mean motherfucker and covered most of his vitriolic attacks, always attacks, with a kind of word magic that, in its misdirection from logic, made him compelling but, somehow, esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-45040654416037022742011-12-16T19:36:00.000-08:002011-12-16T19:38:25.633-08:00HEDGING YOUR BETSIt is a little buggy but if you stay with it, you will be rewarded.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-69442652405618940902011-12-16T15:07:00.000-08:002011-12-16T15:19:09.584-08:00REALITYToday's film was The Stunt Man (2008)with Peter O'Toole, Steve Ralisback! and Barbara HersheyWe saw this when it came out and a while ago I decided that it was time to see it again. I had remembered certain scenes for all those years.It is a movie about a movie making. The focus is an on-the-lam war veteran who finds himself on a film set and gets signed up by the director as a stunt man. esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-2601836846779685662011-12-15T15:14:00.000-08:002011-12-15T15:15:51.253-08:00BACK IN BUSINESSI guess you can tell that my new DVD player arrived and ran today's film flawlessly. Yay!!esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-75595732934335253082011-12-15T15:00:00.000-08:002011-12-15T15:13:08.474-08:00BOTTOM FEEDERSToday's film was the Argentinian dramaCarancho (2010)which means vultures.A crooked ex-lawyer who works accident insurance scams for a crime syndicate meets an addict doctor who works the ambulance shifts. Attraction leads to, well, a lot of shit which eventually flies back at them.Starring are Ricardo Darin, who I have seen many times, and Martina Gusman, ditto, as Argentina has a esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-83180334305665716582011-12-14T14:39:00.000-08:002011-12-14T14:56:26.129-08:00SHORNWe have about 50 jacaranda trees in our condo complex. About one tree for three condos.That is a lot of jacaranda.They have been pruning them and finally reached our little pocket of the neighborhood.It is a pretty radical operation. every branch is cut off the large trunk which heads at about ten feet or so.Since the tree grows from this "branch head" and produces upright branches, the esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-54771806050942373632011-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:002011-12-14T12:57:27.830-08:00FACE OFFI have blogged about my aversion to "facebook", small f.I knew I was not alone. The Facebook ResistersMy heart is warmed by this article as many people, young and old, have resigned from the thing or have never considered "joining".In my own case, it is highly predictable that I would not want to be part of it.I am an introvert. I never wanted to be in a fraternity, (as my business esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-85653775676140318302011-12-13T15:17:00.000-08:002011-12-13T15:20:23.678-08:00RICKEDFull screen a must and you will probably have to view it a couple of times. But it is worth it.esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-74339192175725431492011-12-13T15:12:00.000-08:002011-12-13T15:15:29.454-08:00SHOOTING FROM THE LIPBad Lip Reading: Rick Perry's "Strong" ad - watch more funny videos esrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6172200.post-73374605646181701832011-12-13T15:02:00.000-08:002011-12-13T15:10:58.631-08:00TAKE A POWDERWe had some heavy rain yesterday, mostly on the mountains and, since it is also cold, a lot of that rain came down as snow. There is now a ten foot pack in many places. Dry powder.the view from down here is extraordinary. We have not had a lot of snow the last few years and now we are back on track.The best and deepest is to the north on and about Mount San Gorgonio. Less to the westesrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07574182371868535531noreply@blogger.com0