I have been following smpte‘s blog for many months now. He is an in-the-closet-kid, “stuck in Wyoming,” a member of a “uber-religious Mormon family,” is a part of the “geek group” at school, and over the course of time has only come out to very few of his friends, which at times has created problems.
His parents want him to go to a conservative, religious college, as he finds ways to take “scout trips” to liberal schools in big cities.
What amazes me the most about him, I guess, other than the fact that he’s documenting “closeted gay life in high school these days,” is the fact that he’s not been outed to his parents with the vast amount of activity his blog entries see.
He’s an eloquent blogger, and has one of the highest “comment rates” — that is, most of his entries have 30-40, and more comments to them, which if you blog at all, you know is quite high.
His most recent entry is about his coveted opportunity to try out for the teen competition of Jeopardy. Very interesting experience… (If you are reading this posting after August 11th, when you get to his blog at the address below, scroll down to the August 11th entry. Click on the link that says, “Everything you ever wanted to know about auditioning for the Jeopardy Teen Tournament.”)
http://www.livejournal.com/users/smpte/
I had a great meeting with Greg’s and Michelle’s team to prepare them for their upcoming audit. There was interaction, learning, and laughter — all critical elements for a successful meeting. This was a too-rare instance of having most of my “job satisfiers” met at one time, which gives my work meaning. What a concept.
I met Robert at the Carolina Theater for the first movie of the 10th Annual NC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
Robert and I saw:
Three Dancing Slaves
Synopsis: Following the recent death of their mother, three brothers (Christophe, Marc & Olivier) combat boredom and realize their developing masculinity in an idyllic French Alps resort town. Olivier, the youngest, is secretly gay and pining over his brother’s friend, Hisham, who spends his days practicing capoeira. Marc, the middle brother, can not break his self-destructive ways, and fights turf wars with a rival gang, while Christophe resolves to ‘go straight’ after a stint in jail. Ga‘l Morel (star of the classic gay film Wild Reeds) has created a stark and moving portrait of strained family bonds set against the tensions and frustrations of small town life. In French with English subtitles.
at 7:00, and at 9:15:
Dorian Blues
Synopsis: Brimming with wit and originality, DORIAN BLUES magnificently proves that the coming-out genre is evergreen. First-time feature director Tennyson Bardwell reinvents the universal story form with novelty and delight. Bright, charming — and closeted — Dorian finds himself at a crossroads. Harassed as a probable ‘fag’ at high school and overlooked by his family (especially his overbearing, right-wing father), Dorian is ready for his getaway to New York City and college. But something uncontrollable stirs in him, and suddenly he’s talking back to his father, making out with another guy for the first time, and admitting his gay feelings to his sports-star brother. Ricocheted this-way-and-that by his inner voice, Dorian finds himself in one absurd and awkward situation after another. Bardwell’s ingenious screenplay embellishes familiar milestones with an exhilarating quirkiness and the intoxicating suggestion that each of us is eminently lovable, even at our most geeky. Boasting superb performances by a cast of relative newcomers (capped by Michael McMillian of TV’s WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU as Dorian), DORIAN BLUES heralds the arrival of an exciting new film making talent.
I enjoyed both movies each for their own reasons.
I heard at least two people, and there weren’t all that many people in it, say afterwards that they didn’t like Three Dancing Slaves — I suspect because it was dark, disturbing at times, and did not have a happy Hollywood ending.
Those of you who know my taste in movies know that I rarely see mainstream movies, and that’s because I like movies that aren’t so nicely tied up in the end — especially those tied up with ribbons and bows, and I hate inanity. A good death in the end — or better yet a murder-suicide — that piques my interest.
Dorian Blues was just delightful. In the one or two places were it had its biggest potential to drift into mainstream silliness, it was reigned in with poignancy. The scene at dinner between Dorian, his lover Ben, and Ben’s parents was just hysterical.
If my thumbs were made for voting, they’d vote “two thumbs up.”
That reminds me of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Were Made for Walking, which has surfaced (or should I say resurfaced to allude to pavement) no less than three times this week. What are the chances?
- On Tuesday, at Sammy’s during the trivia game.
- An hour or two later at Flex, “Trixie” sang it as a karaoke song.
- Wednesday, Adam played it some time during the night.
Speaking of dancing last night, I can’t believe I forgot to mention the absolute floozie there making the most incredible scene all night long.
A 5’8″-ish blond, not fat but could lose a few pounds, black and white polka-dot dress (or was it navy and white — who cares), no underwear, and shit-faced. Oh, and did I mention straight, and no underwear?
Another one of these people that think that they are actually going to be able to learn a line dance by doing it one time out on the dance floor, instead of putting in the work of taking a lesson and practicing it over and over.
No consideration of the people around her who already know the dance, under whose feet she is constantly threatening with the twisting of their ankle, or something even more serious.
Thinking she is the absolute cutest thing since the napkin as she is bouncing off people like a pinball machine game gone awry, and hootin’ and hollerin’ like she was Dale Evans herself. Tilt.
Later in the evening, she drags her tragedy up to the pool table area to bug the pure shit out of the people playing pool.
Two guys, I’ll let you guess their sexual orientation (HINT: WE’RE IN A GAY BAR) are playing against each other. One is bent over aiming for a pocket across the table.
Missy, plops her ample butt right over the hole (the one the guy is aiming for) and lifts up her dress to offer up an alternate hole – the one in the middle of her lily white ass. The keywords here are ass-hole.
She did this at least three other times afterwards, and one time I think she actually lifted her front. Thank god I didn’t see that. Just nasty. Pure white trashed trash.
I couldn’t help wonder why the management didn’t get over there and boot her polluted mess out of the place. I’d like to see her try those antics at Jillian’s. Perhaps there, before they arrested her, she could get the attention she was so desperately craving.
So, she gave “showing her ass” a whole new meaning. I mean, lady, let me spell it out for you: line dancing takes practice, and gay men don’t want to see your coochie. Is that straight-forward enough for you?
No? Here’s another way of looking at it. When your ass is on display and the guy you’re showing it to is looking into your eyes, he’s not interested. You move on along to Jillian’s now, y’hear?