The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The illumination is from within, and retirement from participation in current events.
The Hermit is a card of introspection, analysis and, well, virginity. You do not desire to socialize; the card indicates, instead, a desire for peace and solitude. You prefer to take the time to think, organize, ruminate, take stock. There may be feelings of frustration and discontent but these feelings eventually lead to enlightenment, illumination, clarity.
The Hermit represents a wise, inspirational person, friend, teacher, therapist. This a person who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious and confusing.
So Scott Pilgrim didn't happen, when the boyfriend and I got there 45 minutes in advance, there were already like 150 people in line waiting and the theater wasn't that big and we left disappointed. The boyfriend got into a mood afterwards and ignored me the whole way home and just like that date night was over. It was over before it started and it got me pretty upset as well. It's funny how fast things can go awry. A personal observation of mine is that when I say things out loud, it usually won't happen. So when I start boasting how great things are going, some unexpected tragedy will fall in my way. So sometimes, I'd randomly ramble about something awful things out loud just so that it won't happen. We are all too young to be grumpy/crazy old men.
This week's meme comes from The Queen's Meme recounting the firsts of things.
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? I don't know if it's the heat and humidity of the weather lately but my hair haven't been cooperating much. Maybe I just need new hair gel.
2. Where did you go on the very first vacation of your life? When I was a kid, I followed my grandma and my mom to Thailand. There's a picture of me in front of a king cobra and I was scared out of my mind. That's probably my first vacation.
3. Open the door of your refrigerator. What is the first thing you see? A box of leftover lasagna from Buca Di Beppo. It was free.
4. Tell us about your first kiss OR your last first date. My last first date was with a 6'2" guy who just can't stop ramble on and on about everything, I had to kiss him to shut him up.
5. If you had wings to fly about the universe, where is the first place you'd land? Practically, I'd have to fly at night to avoid getting shot at. If I fly out the Atlantic to be on my way to Europe, I'll have to rest at the Azores.
6. What is the first thing you do when you get in your car? I don't have a car and usually the first thing I do is to adjust the seat and wear my seatbelt.
7. What is the first thing you ever said to your firstborn? Don't have one, but I'd imagine is something like goo-goo ga-ga.
8. What is the last thing you heard about your first love? That's tricky. It's hard to define first love.
9. If you had created the world in seven days yourself, what would you have created on the First Day? A ground to stand on.
10. What is the first song in your IPOD or song list? Alphabetically it's A-Punk by Vampire Weekend.
11. What is the first tangible thing you lost that you could never find again? That's hard to remember, probably an umbrella. I was notorious to lose my umbrellas when I was a kid going to school.
12. Who is your favorite First Lady of all time? I don't think I play favorites with First Ladies. I guess it'll have to be Hillary Clinton for now.
13. Post a link to your first blog post. Here you are.
14. When was the last time you needed FirstAid? Not for a long, long time. When I had Achilles' Tendinitis last year, I wrapped a bandage around my ankle but that's a while ago.
15. Can you explain what a first down is in football? Nope. I don't follow football.
I have been having free meals pretty much all week for the past 7-8 days and I'm quite enjoying it. Since past Wednesday, I have been treated to meals from my very good friends. A Japanese sushi buffet on Wednesday at a place called Tokyo Hibachi and Sushi Buffet that is relatively close to my place and with an awesome selection of sashimi and sushi at a relatively low price. Lunch with an old colleague and her daughter at a Korean place that's nice enough and they have these nice metal chopsticks that tempted and satisfied my kleptomania. Dinner with my straizian friends that treated me to an expensive restaurant of my choice but served really small portion food that satisfied more of my curiosity than my hunger. Then a lavish Italian meal that keep busing out plates after plates of food, that leave us stuffed and horrified. I was treated to all of them and plus all the booze we drank, the bills came a little too high and left me feel a bit guilty. On the weekend, the more-than-considerate boyfriend bought me groceries for the week so I'm eating free food all week, which is especially great for this unemployed slob.
Recapping some of the oversalted, overpriced, underportioned food:
During Summer there are plenty of discounted activities in Philadelphia like Restaurant Week or University City Dining Days that offer discounts. Websites like Groupon and Frugal Foodist also list their discount findings on their site for people to browse. Just yesterday, the new Cooking Network is having a promo and hauled an ice cream truck around to give out samples and promote their network.
Today, the boyfriend found out the creperie within Reading Terminal Market is giving out free sweet crepe. Even though there is no signs anywhere indicating this, me along with 4 friends all got free crepes. Chain Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo is having a free lasagna day that gives out a lunch portion of lasagna with any entree or pasta, plus since it's within 7 days of my birthday, I got a free brownie ice cream sundae. Also there's a $10 off coupon in the papers, so it works out really, really well for me.
A friend also has a pair of free prescreening tickets for Scott Pilgrim versus The World, so I guess I'll get to see a movie that I wanted to see ahead of its release time for free. Not all the time but sometimes, sometimes everything comes up roses.
A $500 dinner plate is not such a big deal on its own, just Tiffany's offers a plate with hand-painted rims for 3 times the price, but what if that plate changes appearance all the time and can also function like a computer?
Japanese blogger Takahiko Shiina figured that there are plenty of benefits to use an iPad as a serving dish that he dubbed iDish. For one, you can change the appearance of your dish to the millions of image online.
Takahiko started his quest by dropping a piece of sashimi on his iPad and then thought of the possibilities by doing some experiments:
He found out that by putting food in a proper setting, even boxed sushi that's past its prime looks pretty appetizing:
You can make food look authentic, like these frozen shumai:
If you don't have lots of food to start with, you can make it look like you do. That'll work if you're on a diet:
You can even use your iPod as a small plate for condiments or small appetizer:
If an app idea like iDish is to really be prodcued, one should hope to add some sound or animation to the dish. Take this grill for example, it will be a lot better if some sizzling sound is in the background will some grease bubbles around.
Take the hand for example, Takahiko claimed that if you feel lonely you can pretend eating from someone's hand which is a creepy concept to start with but if you're going for that why not add the voice of your mom or some nice female telling you to eat up before it gets cold or something a caring person would say?
Of course, the concept is not without its problems, one thing is that the iPad is a flat surface and saucier food will run all over the pad and make it hard to scoop. Since there's no borders, food like curry rice will run across the border of the "plate" and ruin the illusions.
Some food textures like the one of this flan is very close to the human touch hence confuse the sensors on the iPad.
Takahiko also mentioned that the iPad is hard to clean and the smell of the food will linger on the iPad, it's best to use an LCD protector on top. So the conclusion of the experiment is that it's not recommendable to use the iPad as a plate.
Oh well, like we didn't know that in the first place.
When we are making little progress in full equality, we're constantly reminded that there are people out there devote their lives to make sure we are condemned. Dan Choi getting discharged, bigot Bill Donahue is still trying to link pedophilia in Catholic Church to homosexuality, the gay marriage case getting declined by NJ supreme court, there are no lacking of oppositions.
NOM (who doesn't deserve to have their name spell out any more because it's a lie) has been having their bus tour around the nation promoting hate even though their ex-CEO Maggie Gallagher said it's not about hate at all. Plus they are painting themselves and their supporters to be victims because counter protesters have been showing up on their events either shouting them down or surrounding their rally and stood peacefully. It's not much of a victimization, though the protesters do outnumber NOM and their supporters in about 4 folds. I guess NOM hasn't done as good as a promoting work for their events, they might be mentioned a lot in the blogosphere/twitterrealm but maybe they are really not that popular in meatspace? Personally, I have a few ideas to make those people real victims but I was reminded by a fellow blogger that the purpose of the NOM bus tour might not be just spreading hate.
True, touring the red states might trigger some people to show up but in all honesty, especially in these dire economic times, people needs to show up at work around those hours, the tour and the rallies are mainly secondary. The primary function might just be to cause conflicts and play victim. After Prop 8 which caused giant media attention, the donations could have died down and that could be the reason why NOM is so ready to produce those family victimized by gay protester videos, tire slashing by mysterious individuals and need tire repair funds, or Maggie Gallagher show up and saying Prop 8 is most likely revoked. The only way to draw more attention and donations to the cause is to play victim and to paint the other group as monsters.
The only problem of a wolf wearing a sheep's clothing is that eventually people would see the sharp teeth and the claws poking out. Pretty much like the Teabaggers claiming they are not racists, NOM has their own version of picketers proving how not about hate they are:
NOM supporter Larry Adams showed up with the sign yesterday in Indianapolis advocating to hang gay people. After being warned by a few NOM supporters, Mr. Adams did an interview with the Courage Campaign and said that he has been tempted by his homosexual tendencies but the bible told him what's right and what's wrong and he always had a choice.
Good thing that Mr. Adams' sign contains his information so that NOM can't claim that he was planted in their rally. As much intimidation as they claim the marriage equality protesters to be, we never threaten to kill anyone. With all the gay bashing incidents and gay killing around the world, I don't think any religious person was killed for gay causes. So who's the real victim here?
Over at Vic's Maybe It's Just Me..., I've been reading a lot about new projects that has to do with the story of Wizard of Oz. So I started wondering how many Wizard of Oz related movies are coming out. An article over at Moviefone has the answer (maybe part of it):
1. Surrender Dorothy (2011)
Expected to come out next year, it's Surrender Dorothy. The project was announced back in 2002, it's based on a script by Zach Helm and it will be Drew Barrymore's 2nd directing project. It's a modern day interpretation much like Enchanted about the great granddaughter of Dorothy trying to use th power of the ruby slippers to defeat the apparently still alive Wicked Witch of the West.
2. Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)
I guess there's no project that Robert Downey Jr. won't want to participate in, he's practically in every franchise will be playing the almighty wizard of OZ in this upcoming project. Sam Raimi is set to direct this prequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the man behind Alice in Wonderland Joe Roth will be producing this one along with Disney. Instead of having Dorothy as the main character, this movie will be telling the story from the wizard's point of view. No music but more action.
Let's be honest and say that it'll focus on Robert Downey Jr. and it's be like any other of his movies.
3. Oz (2013)
Not much news for this one yet, but the folks behind Twilight and Warner Bros/New Line are behind this one. Darren Lemke who wrote Shrek Forever After wrote the script for it. It's a retelling of the original Judy Garland movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with more action and less music. Personally I'd like to think that Toto is a werewolf and the witches are vampires, and Dorothy is a emo girl traveling with an ogre, gingerbread man and puss in boots to see her emo boy, but that could be just me.
4. The Twisted Land of Oz (201?)
Comic artist Todd McFarlane of Spawn fame who has designed a series of twisted figurines based on the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. His Oz includes a Scarecrow who's torn apart by ravenous birds, a Tin Man who's a junkpile of Edward Scissorhands-like limbs, a flesh-eating Lion who's not at all cowardly, a Wizard who's a gas-mask-wearing mad scientist, a carnivorous creature dubbed Toto after it eats Dorothy's dog, and a nubile Dorothy who's bound and molested by depraved Munchkins. Even though he claimed that Michael Bay will direct this project and it could be distributed by Warner Bros, it seems like it is still in the pitching phase and will most likely be buried under all the other competing projects based on the same inspiration.
5. Oz: Return to the Emerald City (2012)
This might be Warner Bros' third Oz project and it takes a similar route as Surrender Dorothy, but this modern day interpretation is not about Dorothy's great granddaughter but her granddaughter who's an adult lawyer living in Chicago. She's set to defeat a new witch in Oz along with her grandmother's old pals. The script is written by Josh Olson.
6. Wicked (2012)
There's news that the Broadway hit Wicked will be brought to the silver screen which would be great. The fans of the musical would know that it's kind of a prequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz retelling a different version of the background to shine a different light to the story. I've tried to get tickets to the musical for the longest time and could never manage to see it. Putting it on the big screen will definitely draw a lot of people, if, we are not tired of seeing all the other ones yet. Even it's set to come out in 2012, no one has been cast yet and there has been no signs of production beyond having a script.
7. Dorothy of Oz (2012)
This animated series is a sequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz where after Dorothy clicked her heels and went back to Kansas and found it destroyed by the tornado and everyone is moving out. She got mysteriously sent back to Oz again but find it deserted and decaying. All the people in Oz went missing. On her way back to Emerald City, she finds herself some new characters and a new villain in the form of a Jester. It's an all star cast, hopefully some music in this one. I just saw 1985's Return to Oz with The Craft's Fairuza Balk, I guess it will have feel if not storyline.
There's also a MySpace movie project called Wheeler of Oz that just came out and I just watched The Wiz again a few weeks ago. Why are all the Oz movies coming out in the same time? Even one new movie every year is a bit too much. I'm only interested in Wicked anyway.
During one of my birthday dinners last week, I got to see my good friend (let's call him Donald) whom I haven't seen in almost a year. I was a bit peeved for not being able to see this friend was so long but after remembering that his elderly father had got cancer and he had to travel back and forth to China to visit, I guess I couldn't really blame him that much.
We were catching up when he was telling me about his scuffle with his neighbors. Donald lives in one of the rich folks' suburban area with several acres of land with a pool, a pond, small farm, his big old house and several mini houses to store wine, tools and junk. He and his partner are loaded, which could be one of the reason why he wouldn't hang out with a lowly person like me but I digress. From our conversations, it seemed that everything is not quite okay in paradise.
Donald and his partner (let's call him James) share a driveway with 3 other neighbors with two lots in the beginning of a driveway, his own giant lot and at the end of the driveway lives a pair of lesbians in their 50s. About a year ago, the 4 households decided it is time to repair the driveway. The front two households and James agreed that all four of them will pay for the portion of the driveway they use, which means the front portion will be paid by of 4 households while the back portion will be paid by my friends and the lesbos. Even though it kinda made sense, the lesbos object to it but were outnumbered. Over this issue, they have ceased being friends with Donald and James.
James is a wannabe architecture that likes to landscape and do little project all year round his house. A few months ago, James suggested he wants to redesign the back portion of the drive way, instead of having the lesbians driving right in front of James; house every time they go out or come back. James would pay to build a shorter, more direct fork where the lesbians can drive to their house from the main driveway. That way, Donald and James will have more privacy. The suggestion somehow turned into a screaming match. The lesbians won't have any of that. They refuse constructions in their own portion of the land and since they have the right to reach their own property, James couldn't do anything. James wanted to talk to the lesbians to find out what they want. The lesbians refused to see him at their house and say they would meet him at a Starbucks half a mile away. When James got there, they berated him and made an unreasonable demand of $1 million.
Afterwards the lesbians started to build a fence to separate their own property from Donald's without hiring a surveyor to define the property line. After Donald and James spent thousands of dollars to hire one and it was defined, the lesbians try to skewered the line to make their property larger which caused another screaming match. When Donald said his piece and returned to his house, the lesbians had called the police.
Turns out in the little time after Donald got back into his house, the lesbians has applied scratch marks to their own body, ripped their own clothes and disheveled their own hairs, so they can say that Donald attacked them. I've known the guy for a decade and he has never been violent or aggressive, plus he's getting older and way too rich to be that way. Donald, being alone, not good at explaining himself and shocked that someone will make up shit to accuse him, was trying his best to prove his own innocence. He doesn't even have nails. It take some convincing for the police to believe that a Chinese man would be innocent, at the end he was slapped with a warning.
I can attest to both of us when I say nothing get us more angry than being accused of something we didn't do by liars. Donald soon got himself a lawyer and was reminded that the neighbors has security cameras in their property and if they have taped the incident, he could have proved himself innocent. So under the instructions of his lawyers, he took his digital camera to take some pictures of those cameras. A while later, the lesbians came out screaming and they called the police again. Now the lesbians accused Donald for stalking and taking pictures of their bedrooms. The cops wouldn't hear what Donald had to say and stick a criminal charge to him for stalking.
A tall, solid wooden fence had been put in place since, which the lesbians had called the police as well. Security cameras had been put in place by Donald, which the lesbians called the cops and they accused Donald for wiretapping. James when into the police station to explain all these to the police chief just so he understands their situation. The court date for Donald's criminal charge is set for September. I'm sure he'll be found innocent from the incessant police logs and records and his other neighbors as witnesses. The lesbians had install bright light to shine into Donald's yard at night and threaten to call Donald's company and cause him to lose his job, which could happen. Donald wishes to take the peaceful approach if he's found innocent, but god helps them if they found him guilty.
Personally I would sue for emotional distress, defamation and harassment, and with Donald and James unmatched resources, the lesbians will soon not be able to afford their house. It's unfortunate that friends would turn into enemies even though we are all in the LGBT big umbrellas, how do you live when someone you hate live that closely to you? Thank god I don't have psycho neighbors.
It's great to have friends. For the past three days, my friends had took me to lunch and dinner and I didn't have to lift a finger to cook. Having people around as moral support do the soul some good.
As my recuperating act, I found this birthday meme that's the easiest one I've done for a while. No 20-50 questions meme. Just simple fact finding missions. The instruction is simple, just go to wikipedia and look up your birthdate and list 4 events, 3 births, 2 deaths, and 1 holiday that happened on that date.
Here are mine:
EVENTS 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union. 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car. 1967 – 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned). 1984 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
BIRTHS 1940 – Don Imus, American talk radio host 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor 1980 - Michelle Williams, American singer (Destiny's Child)
DEATHS 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920) 1999 – King Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
HOLIDAY Neptunalia, in honor of Neptune. (Roman Empire)
So I'm turning 35 today, older but none the wiser. I guess wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, you certainly don't wake up with it. Other than money and a job, I pretty much have everything. Good friends, a cute and thoughtful boyfriend, I have my health and, for now, a place to live. I should be happy but I'm worried and a little depressed. I guess being a human being means that I'll always feel the need for more even when I should be content.
My birthday wish should be apparent. No matter what happens, this year will be a turning point in my life. I just hope it'll be for the better.
A few days ago, I got into a semi-heated discussion online over what seems to be Roy Ashburn's third public apology for his past homophobic voting record despite being a closeted gay man himself. Most people who commented on the post took the cute puppy approach, no doubt the apology is somewhat sincere and a lot of more open-minded folks sympathize with Ashburn living the difficult closeted life and accept his apology and hope he'll work towards equality from now on but since I'm never been a forgiving person, I don't see why I should start now.
No, accepting an apology is just a gesture, god knows he doesn't need my acceptance. But as stated in his apology, he had worked for the past 26 years voted to go against the GLBT legislation. He, along with the Larry Craigs and the George Rekers, is the reason why we are still debating whether gay folks can marry or adopt children. In the last term of his senate seat, he was found out to be in the closet through a DUI. So he came out in the last months of being a senator, how does an apology exactly undo the harm he did because of his self-hatred?
The folks seems to think that by being nice to him now equates to encouraging him to do good and being negative isn't constructive. While that could be true, the man only have a few months left in his senate seat, I don't know what can be accomplished. He can say he's sorry and I am too about his predicament but being sorry doesn't do any of us any good. An apology as a gesture is not constructive, there should be action behind it to make up for the damage done and I'm not holding my breath for it.
I'm not sold on the idea that the rehabilitated immediately become heroes. I wasn't sold that victims immediately become heroes either. For all I know, Constance McMillen could be have some personality problems or harassing her female classmates. Matthew Sheppard went on a stranger's truck on his own accord. I'm not saying what happened to them were not horrible or tragic, but I'm not ready to revere these people as the pioneer of gay causes. They are victims, I would fight for their causes, but they are not heroes or historical figures that made a difference. Rosa Parks insisted on sitting at the front of the bus, Roy Ashburn didn't come out on his own accord, there is a difference. I cringe when these folks get credit for things that they didn't do while tons of other folks work everyday to advance our movement - People like Dan Choi.
Admittedly I wouldn't have cared about DADT if he wasn't Asian. Maybe that's not completely true, I would admire anyone who goes out and fights for equality and gets into people's faces. Much like arguing within ourselves wouldn't get us anywhere, being obedient and quiet never get me anywhere. I was dubbed by my family on believe that being a quiet and "good" kid has its own reward but in fact only the kid who makes the loudest noise at the mall will get what he wants in order to be kept quiet and not embarrassing his parents. Complain to the restaurant manager and get a free meal. If you don't fight for what you want, how will you get it?
Some people are taking joy on the discharge of Dan Choi for painting a picture that gays could be violent or him taking too much spotlight for himself but that's exactly what should be done. If you are not constantly yelling for help, no one will pay you any attention. I feel bad for the guy. All he just wanted to be treated fairly in the military, he was risking his life for the country and he wanted to make sure he didn't get trivially discharged for whom he loves. At least he went out fighting, so he should be proud. That's exactly how a hero would act, if you're constantly obeying conventional rules and you go without conflict then you're not a threat and your needs will be not be a priority for anyone. Just look at the Clinton years and the Bush years. If it's not for the violent Stonewall, we'll still be raided every night we go out to gay bars. Did it make the gays look bad? Do we care now that we can go freely to any gay bars we like without being hassled?
The brat in the media family who yells the loudest and gets the most attention, of course, is Fox News. How do they managed to stay as a news organization and have some many fanatics is way over my head.
Right-wing weasel blogger Andrew Breitbart has published an edited clip about Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod making a speech on her past experience of racism. She was working in a non-profit and encountered a racist farmer asking for help and albeit her inner demon of thinking she decline help for this farmer, she helped him anyway. Of course, after the edit done to the video, it was portrayed as if Ms. Sherrod, an employee of the Department of Agriculture declined help to white farmers because she's a racist. Fox News used the clip to attack the Obama administration and say this is the kind of government we have, Blacks in charge and being discriminatory against Whites. The NAACP took a whiff of the clip and denounced Ms. Sherrod, the Obama administration saw the clip and forced Ms. Sherrod to resign. Despite Ms. Sherrod fervent denials, they apparently didn’t want to hear any of it and just wanted her gone.
The truth and the original story has just came out and we found out that Ms. Sherrod wasn't a Federal employee when that story took place in 1986. Ms. Sherrod was telling a story that despite her inner point of view she still had offered help to the farmer. Ms. Sherrod was fired with little of no investigation to prove that the story was fact. We are left to wonder why Fox News and the blogger don't have any consciences, we're left to wonder why they are given that much power as if any negative aspects of the administration is reported or eluded and things are put into action, we're left to wonder whether the administration have any spine to protect their own people, like Ms. Sherrod or the people who's voted Obama into office. We were promised change and we found out that it's not that easy, unlike the firing of Ms. Sherrod or the discharge of Dan Choi. Cue on Breitbart not apologizing for what he did and digging an exit for himself:
I fully recommend Ms. Sherrod to sue Andrew Breitbart and Fox News for anything under the sun. Journalists are not just there to report, there should be an investigative aspect or at least check whether the story is solid.
So when we're in a society where "bad" behaviors are getting noticed and rewarded, why are we still trying so hard to be "good"?
So Glenn Beck says he got macular dystrophy and he's going blind. The man gets no sympathy from me whatsoever.
The man who cries crocodile tears is going blind? Then how do we know those are actually tears when he fake-cries and not oozes from his eye disease? And when a disease befalls him, how is it not God's punishment? The correct punishment of course is rendering him mute or maybe God sees the righteousness in him and He's trying to aid him on his teachings on the course Justice 101 in the next semester of Beck University. I'm sure it's just an act to render as much sympathy as he can for his modern donation box that a fan will undoubtedly put up on a website asking for donations. On the slim chance that he is indeed going blind, all I have to say is "Hurray! Karma is a bitch!"
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The NOM Hate Bus has been touring around the Northeast, just reaching New Jersey but the public support has been dismal. Of all the cities and towns they've been, protesters outnumber their supporters and it's great, no doubt that will change the further south they go.
So the numbers that showed up for them is pathetic, but it's still not as pathetic as the organization itself. Just because the support is measly, they are taking the position as the victim, claiming that the gay activists who showed up to protest for being bullies, tweeting the protesters are arriving with their hate which is particularly laughable.
For a peaceful protest in Albany where protesters showed up surrounding the group carrying rainbow colored umbrellas:
They clumsily turned it into this:
Sorry if I'm not playing the world's smallest violin alongside the sad music. All I can do is feel bad for their kids.
The Rhode Island protest is even more hilarious with hack Pastor Jay Stirnemann speaking in tongues trying to ward off the gays. It's funny and pathetic at the same time.
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The Tea Party movement is so disorganized that I don't believe anyone has authority to throw anyone out of it but here it is: Founder of the Tea Party Express had been kicked out of the movement for being a racist and posting this as a satire:
We Colored People have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!
Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.
One racist gone, how many are there left? It's funny how they try to paint themselves as non-racist when the whole movement pretty much started because a (half)black dude is in the White House as the president. Sure hire the first black opportunist to be their Michael Steele, the effect stays the same. Just because they've found one black dude in your party and make him chair doesn't mean the majority of they are not white and racist.
A month or two ago, I picked up an abandoned book in our stairwell where people regularly put things that they don't need anymore out for other people who might find some use out of them. It's a great thing. So I picked up James Patterson's 8th Confession and then got all the others in the series and finished all of them in record time. They are all part of the Women's Murder Club series about Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends who take jobs as Medical Examiner, Assistant District Attorney and Crime Desk Reporter to join hands and solve murder cases together. It was a good read since the chapters are all 2-3 pages long and I can stop anytime when I get too tired and can't keep my eyes open anymore.
So instead of waiting for the 10th installation, I went on the net and downloaded the first and only season of the TV series based on the Patterson books called Women's Murder Club starring Angie Harmon as blond detective Lindsay Boxer. The series was canceled after one season because of the writer's strike of 2007, which was the single cause of death for a lot of good shows and ideas. I didn't expect a lot from it but the more I watch, the more I grew to enjoy the show.
There's certain charm to all the characters, actually all four women are very likable. Of course, I have been to San Francisco so I'm faintly familiar with the city and the scenery and I like the city so I feel good watching it. The cast tries to incorporate minorities in the script even though the Asian characters in the show was either a bitch, a corrupt racist, or dead. For Latinos the portrayal is not any better, they are either illegal, a bruja, villain killers or dead. I guess in a detective show it's hard to create any positive role models. I finished the TV series too in a short amount of time and left with a good but regrettable feeling knowing that there wouldn't be a second season, wouldn't you know it when I turn on the TV and saw Angie Harmon playing a detective in a brand new show?
No, even though it's like a continuation of the previous series I wasn't excited. It's only two years ago that she played a toyboy-ish detective that loves her job so much that she couldn't manage to find a boyfriend who's best friend is a medical examiner and here she is again with the same personality playing a character with a different name based on another book series. The number of minority in this show shrunk into one black guy who puke whenever he sees a dead body. That reminds me that Angie Harmon was accused of being a racist herself because she made a comment about Obama which Whoopi defended here with the same line she defended Mel Gibson. At least Lorraine Brocco from Sopranos changed her looks and adopted an accent to play her mother but Angie Harmon's Detective Jane Rizzoli remained the very same. At least this time her hair color matched the original character written by Asian American writer Tess Gerritsen, unlike Sasha Alexander who turned a goth princess into someone more booji to fit her looks. Though I'm sure those things happens all the time.
So they set the story around Boston, I'm still a little peeved about the unoriginality of having the same actress acting on two different characters with a similar story lines that looks practically the same but I figure I can get into it. Despite the relatively long modeling and acting career, does she really know how to act or is she playing the same person over and over again? I've already picked up one of the books in the Rizzoli/Isles series. My requirements on detective books seemed to be quite low so I might be able to get hooked to it if I let it.
The film festival is almost over, while I don't think I've had enough that's probably because of all the films we have chosen, they are actually quite good and I don't regret seeing any. Here's the last three:
You Should Meet My Son is a comedy about a closeted young man who's constantly being matched up by his mom and her sister. After broken up with his boyfriend who disguised as his best friend and roommate in front of his mom, the mother learned the fact that his son is gay and took a crash course on gay life from a neighborhood boy and a night at a gay club. When she has found a suitable match for his son, the son changed his mind.
The movie was hilarious and fun. Of course, this movie sets in the unlikeliest situation but it's what gay men imagine their mom would do if they went cruising online or hung out at a gay bar. Set in Alabama, the aunt draws all her modern living tips from Glamour magazine but both sheltered from anything else. It was indeed fun up to a point, but after the mom gets to meet a lot of different gay characters. The cast suddenly expanded 4~5 folds and it kinda became a circus. The religious element got a bit old and the path that the son chose to take was illogical and creates negative feelings. Some of the casts are unconvincing and a bit awkward in delivering their dialogue but generally it tries to deliver jokes after jokes. B-
With the film, this short film from Director Keith Hartman was also shown which I'm sure we all loved.
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It seems to be a trend now that there's a zombie for the past 3 festivals and I went to see them all. I walked out of the extremely pretentious Bruce LaBruce's Otto; Or, Up With Dead People, ZMD: Zombie of Mass Destruction was fun and impressive. This year's tag along Danger After Dark horror fest brought us the best zombie movie yet. It doesn't have anything to do with being gay, but the only sold out movie I went to is Big Tits Zombie 3D. You heard me right. Big Tits. Zombie. 3D.
This campy softcore porn of a gem from Japan tells the story of a bratty drunk girl that just came back from Mexico and for money she contacted an old acquaintance who operates a strip club. In the club she met four other girls from different background, the five of them performed in a rundown town nightly for customers that you can count with both hands. The story took an unsuspected turn (oh who am I kidding?) when they found a key for a door that linked to an abandoned building across the street.
The 3D is completely bullshit, but the camp value of this film goes through the roof. Blatant countdown on 3D moments where actors themselves will put on the glasses with you, unnecessary shots where bras would be ripped off bodies of female characters, pyrotechnics out of places you never wanted to see, midgets, the famed tentacle monster, handsome Japanese men with giant chests with too little cameo time but they are all hilarious. It's the most laughter I've heard in a movie theater in a long time, it even got me curious of the repulsive RoboGeisha. One could only hope that all B-movies are as good as this one. B+
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The last movie is a beautiful story from Brazil called Do Começo ao Fim or From Beginning to End. It dabbles in the dangerous topic of incest. The story doesn't have too much of a plot or any twist and turns, it's just a simple story about two brothers, Francisco and Thomas, growing up together and living codependent in the suburbs of Rio. Their family is very well-to-do and even they noticed that the boys were being a little too intimate from a nearly age, they figured it's better to let it run its course than to traumatize them. When their parents died, moved out and leaving them alone in the house, all boundaries came loose.
It's a sentimental and romantic movie beautifully lit, staged and captured. The actors are all gorgeous. The director focused a lot of time describing the childhood of these boys, maybe I've seen too much Hollywood movies and I keep on expecting some major plot twists but they never came. Then suddenly the years have passed and even the first sex scene was beautifully filmed, I'm not quite sure of the logic behind it. I also don't understand the sexuality of the brothers, it seemed if it's not for each other they might not necessarily be gay. And as abruptly as the years has passed, the ending was also a bit poorly edited. If the beauty wasn't there, the film itself can be seen as boring. I wonder if it's an attempt to normalize a subject as controversial as incest, it's almost just like any other epic love stories you see, told by beautiful people.
Maybe not every stories need car accidents and tragic endings. B
Once a year, Philadelphia has an extraordinary gay and lesbian film festival that make me proud to be gay in this town. The Philadelphia QFest run concurrently with the LA Outfest. While it's true that most gay film producers and stars live in LA, the Philadelphia QFest is not inferior in scope. Just this year, we have about 50 international full-length and short film compilations to choose from, which makes me a very happy camper. I treasure the moments spent on reading and circling the films that I might want to see. In addition to gay films, this year small Danger After Dark movie festival tagged alongside, adding more selection for the boyfriend to enjoy.
To cut down on budget, the boyfriend and I chose 5 films to go see together and the first one of the bunch is a French comedy called Rose et Noir or Fashion Victim. The film is set in 1577 Paris, where a famous fashion designer was hired to go to Spain to produce a wedding gown for noble's daughter to wed King Henri VIII's nephew. It was a ploy to stabilize the relationship between both countries. Though the famous couturier is but a phony, his designs and tailoring comes from a young staff of an arab, a jew and a gay guy. The crew along with the fussy designer's brother and the adolescent soon-to-wed prince begins their journey into chaotic Spain in the midst of the inquisition.
The movie takes a lot of liberty in historic accuracy but of course, it's not meant to be serious. Instead of being about fashion, the film is more about the oppression that religion causes. Jews, gays, Arabs and protestants alike are all prosecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. Things like fashion and music are deemed to be sinful pursuits, the joys of life are sucked dry by Catholicism. The title of the film itself represented the ways of living by the two opposing groups. Freedom necessary for joy and creativity and the movie told it in the most flamboyant and funny way possible.
The actors are likable, the costumes are great, the fashion show in the beginning is unlike anything I've ever seen. At the end, there's a poignant point at the end of the movie that popped out out of nowhere that reminded me of some Bollywood movie where the ending doesn't have anything to do with the entire movie and the ending where everyone walked up and down the runway made me think of the ending dance of those films. Albeit some plot points that I can spot from a mile away, I did enjoy this movie and found it quite funny. B--
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Every year, I try to go see a short film compilation with the believe that with less time, they'd have to do more to draw their viewers in much like commercials and without the constriction of a 90 minutes period they won't have to fill up the time with nonsense. This year we got to see 6 of these shorts in a compilation called "Short, Sexy and Sweet":
After is about 3 young men seating at the front porch onlooking to a park where a couple of guys were playing football. They all fantasize about one of the player wearing a red shirt in their own different ways and while there are some flirting coming back, the young men reacted in their own way when the fantasies met a tragic end. It's very much like a low budget art school freshman film, that's weird and dorky. In the beginning, it stated that the film was inspired by a Dennis Cooper poem called "After School, Street Football, Eighth Grade". I'd like to read that poem, if it's true, it's bound to be one twisted poem. C-
On The Way To The Videostore is a black and white film about a phone call between a cub and his hag retelling the story where he saw his favorite porn star on the street and his plan to cruise him. This is a sophomore art school film with more bells and whistles that didn't seem necessary. It reminds me of the Cabearet video that fellow blogger Erik posted, because it will be more successful as an act than an actual movie. With its length, it can even be on YouTube. Cheesy dialogue, clumsy plots, not too attractive actors, it doesn't have too much going for it. But it's fun. D
Thirteen Minutes Or So detailed the aftermath between two straight men who went to a bar and later on... had sex. After everything was done, one of them started to freak out about what their sex acts represents while the other took the nonchalant approach. The dialogue between them two contemplating with their own homophobia and acceptance was touch. Though something tells me that one of them has to know that he's gay and randomly preys on straight guys at the bar all the time. C
Last Call shows Gavin recounting his treasured moments with the love of his life Mark at a mysterious bar. Mark is a much younger musician but their love was torn apart because of Gavin's drinking problem. After rehab and a year and a half of sobriety, Gavin seeks out Mark for reconciliation but found out that things cannot be anymore. This short film is quite well produced and the editing is obviously superb to all others. The concept and the look come quite fresh, Mark can improve a little in the acting part and the moments can be more significant but it's still good. C+
You Can't Curry Love has a title that I deem a bit too much but the cast is gorgeous. An East Indian from London was sent by his gay-baiting boss to Indian to check on the progress of that branch and meet a handsome hotel clerk. They slowly fell in love while traveling India, the film touch on different social issues and gay life in India. When it's time for the Londoner to return home he's face with a choice, does he return to his roots or follow his boss whom he has a huge crush on? In all honesty, this film feels more like a gay travels guide to Indian on Logo mashed with the presex gay porn scenes but the cast was incredibly charming even the fag hag in it, the hotel clerk in particular was gorgeous. The film is incredibly sweet, and of course, they ended with a dance. B
The last one is called Bedfellows. It's a quirky film done in the form of a fairytale where a guy finds a one night stand and when the sex is over he dreams of a life with this stranger, from marriage, adoptions until his last breath. In his fantasy, he experienced the full range of emotions from various life events but he eventually have to wake up. It's a new kind of story told in a fresh way. It was very hard for me to see it as a fairytale at first, especially when the narrator's voice is a bit awkward. I reckoned that not everyone can be Morgan Freeman and I got over that soon. The primary set is well done, throughout the film the two main characters were subtly aging which is brilliant. It's a story that can only be told by a short film. There can always be a few improvements but it's pretty well done. B-
Of these six shorts films, three of them involved a scene where a character got into a car accident. If I were to compile a slew of shorts, I will not put those three together unless I based the theme in accidents and tragedy. Not all of them fits into all three of the Short, Sexy & Sweet category.
After doing the telephone meme last week, my cell phone has gone awry. I knew I shouldn't have try to appreciate things around me. The center column of buttons trigger some other effects and basically I won't be able to text anymore because it become too cumbersome to undo things whenever I type. I don't remember smashing it or dropping it, so I suspect it's some sort of electrical surge that caused the malfunction. I can still use other shortcuts to make and receive phone calls but I guess it's time for a new phone. Honestly I only got it a year and a half ago, so I'm not too happy. With most electronics, I usually expect at least a 3-year life cycle. So I'm looking for a new cell phone that is not an iPhone, as long as there's a nice camera and relatively affordable I'll be happy. If you know of a reliable model, please send me a comment.
This week's meme is from Sunday Stealing who stole it from someone else. It's originally a 80 questions meme, in which they cut it down to 44 and I in turn cut it down further to 35 to reduce redundancy from past meme and to celebrate on an event coming up this week.
1. Do you own an iPod? Oh yeah, unlike the iPhone 4 I think iPod (especially iPod Touch) is a great toy.
2. What person do you talk to on the phone the most? Actually I don't talk on the phone that much, I prefer texting. That's how my cell phone bill stays relatively low. I think calling Verizon's technical support to help my friend with his DSL and talking for 25 minutes was the longest call I've made in months.
3. Do you still remember the first person you kissed? Mouth to mouth? I don't really know. I would think it's a family member. Since adulthood? I don't know that either. I have a rather casual view on kissing, not that I do it a lot but my first kiss as important as my virginity or other firsts.
4. Do you remember where you were on 11/9/01? Oh yeah, I went to work after watching the news in the morning. I thought it was a behind-the-scenes movie production clip until I really paid attention to what the anchors are saying and realized that it wasn't. We talked about it at work and I think we only had to be there half day.
5. What was the last movie you watched? I just went to a whole slew of movies at the Philly QFest. I'll be reviewing them soon enough.
6. Has anyone ever called you lazy? Oh yeah, my family call me lazy all the time when I was a kid. I call myself lazy, it's one of my ingrained characteristics.
7. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep? No, I don't use sleeping pills. I have to say I'm pretty good at sleeping, I can count sheep if need be but I rarely do. Though when I'm sick I do use medication with drowsy effects but I don't think they work that well on me.
8. Has anyone told you a secret this week? A friend's birthday is this week and he tried to hide it from us but his better friend told everyone, does that count?
9. What will you be doing in one hour? I imagine not much different than what I'm doing now. I seriously spend too much time online but life in this decade pretty much revolves around the net.
10. Are you on a desktop computer or a laptop? A laptop. Easier to drag it all around the place.
11. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos? Nope. But if I do, I know what I'm gonna get.
12. Would you ever date anyone covered in tattoos? Depends what you mean covered. I can deal with simple tattoos and even sleeves or a chest covered with it. But the whole body and face? That's a bit too much.
13. When is the last time you slept on the floor? I used to do that tons of times when I was a kid but I haven't done that for a long while. Last time I've done that is probably 3-4 years ago. Not quite comfortable.
14. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? I think 6-7. As I grow older the amount of sleep I need seems to be less, no doubt the amount of energy I use is less as well.
15. Do you eat breakfast daily? Nope, usually none.
16. Are your days fast-paced? I haven't had a fast paced day for a long while.
17. What did you do last night? Saw two movies which I will be reviewing soon.
18. Do you use sarcasm? More than I'd like to admit.
19. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? If you haven't figured out yet, I'll be 35.
20. Are you picky about spelling and grammar? Not really, since I don't have very good grammar it's hard for me to detect mistakes. Unless it's outrageous than yes, I can be picky.
21. Do you get along better with the same sex or the opposite sex? I think I get along better with the opposite sex. Since I'm gay, they don't see me as a potential interest and they can put down their guards.
22. Do you watch the news? Not often, unless its satire. The regular news are too sensational and trivial.
23. How did you get one of your scars? I have a small dent on my forehead that I got when I was 2-3 years old. My mom and grandma told me that I got it from running around the house while my mom was moping the floor. I bumped head first on the bed frame and got a few stitches.
24. What is the last big thing you purchased? That'd be my iPod touch.
25. Who would you want to be tied to for 24 hours? Depends on the reason or results of being tied up. I wouldn't want anyone close to me to be in harm's way. But if it doesn't result in a tragical end, it could be the boyfriend or one of my friends. Of course, I wouldn't mind to be tied up with Ryan Kwanten or Joe Manganiello. Have you seen this prime piece of meat? I'll howl for that.
Where do they find these people?
26. What is a rumour someone has spread about you? Rumour? This meme must have started out in a foreign country. Last one I heard was that I was straight and had a Spanish girlfriend. It was spread by my downstairs neighbor because he heard me speaking Spanish on the phone and that I'm so "straight-acting".
27. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator? That's a toughie. I don't even know how that dude stuck in the elevator for 41 hours survived. Where do you go to the bathroom? How do you get pass boredom and not go crazy? Hopefully I'd have my phone with me to call someone for help.
28. Do you know how to use some words correctly, but not know the meaning? I don't for the longest time I thought pet peeves were something that I enjoy doing. Pets are cute and I didn't know what peeves meant. Isn't that hilarious?
29. Do you know which US states don’t use Daylight Savings Time? Nope, I thought they all did. (Found out that Hawaii and "most of" Arizona don't observe daylight savings time. Good for them.)
30. Do you want a bright yellow ‘06 mustang? Who wouldn't? As long as you can sell it out.
31. What’s something you’ve always wanted? Peace, love and harmony. Power, money, looks and brains are also very good things. Health and a slamming body are too.
32. Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake? I think the lake would be nicer, though I don't think I've swam in a lake before.
33. Do you wear a lot of black? I've gone through my own sans makeup goth phase when I was a teenager. I thought black was cool, but now I dabble more in the blue and brown era.
34. Describe your hair: Black, short, fine, spiky when it'll let me.
35. Where is/are your best friend(s)? They are either in Hong Kong or Philly. My closest online friend would be the one in Kentucky.
The latest Sherry Vine parody to Lady Gaga's Alejandro:
And That's Gay "No Homo" installment:
Argentina is at its dawn to legalize same sex marriage, I've nothing against Argentina and I'm actually quite fond of it but to have Argentina more progressive than United States puts a little damper to the so-called "Land of the Free". The Argentinean economy is pretty much the pits of the world but yet they can afford to put it aside and make a giant step in civil rights proves that it can be done if their leaders put their hearts into it. You can't get more religious than their countrymen so I wonder if we can borrow a page in separating Church and State.
We have to tell ourselves that we are making progress, albeit the almostdailynews of fag-bashing and harassment our people suffer. Less stop calling fag-bashings anti-gay assaults or hate crimes, political correct terms cannot accurately describe the degree of passion behind the crime. The most outrageous thing is for the attacker to receive light sentences while almost killing the person they attacked while the religious right claimed that the gays are equally violent towards them. When's the last time any one of them got beaten down and sent to the hospital? When's the last time one of them got killed?
I'm not advocating for murder, though I do believe some showing that we're not weak might help ceasing some violence towards gays. Take the National Organization for Marriage's bus tour for example, they are touring the country promoting their hate towards gays and gay marriage. Luckily they had the wit to avoid major blue states cities, if they had the gall to come to Philadelphia or New York, gays might surround their vans and give them a piece of their minds. Like this.
Until this day, I'm still astonished of people who's against my existence and thinking they have a say on what I can or cannot do. How superior does one have to feel before they think they can control the behavior of other people? Where would these people be without the gays?
