mega gay

sometimes you feel like a nut... i got this link from my friend andrew in london...
it definitely made me smile..

pride- i believe in love, too...

2009LGBT Prc Rel (2)

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today's sound choice is definitely old school. barbra streisand with "i believe in love" from a star is born.....

get honor and stay honor

Love Reign O'er me

On the dry and dusty road
The nights we spend apart alone
I need to get back home to cool cool rain
I can't sleep and I lay and I think
The night is hot and black as ink
Oh God, I need a drink of cool cool rain

i watched the kennedy center honors last evening and was mildly entertained. there were some good renditions of classic songs as well as non-musical honorees that were remarkable as well.

for me though, the most memorable were the who, and of course barbra streisand. when i was a wee lad (early teens actually) the who really were the end all be all band. they had already had "who's next" out for awhile and were out on the "quadrophenia" tour. "tommy" came along soon thereafter and i moved onto to disco and out of the closet, but i still held the battlecry of "we're all wasted" close to my chest for years to come. and pete townsend was one of the 1st visible "punks" smashing his guitar at shows to display contempt and frustration.

and probably now out of the closet (1976) and back into the arms of streisand. she was really before my time then, as i hadn't really connected to broadway music. but as she transitioned into movies and culture out of nyc, i became acquainted with her. i remember she had a silly song on a 70's album that had a lyric "rub it on my belly like guava jelly" and i thought to myself, " i like her". she then also had many attempts at connecting with r&b and disco- some good, some less memorable. but she didn't stay stuck. and the music from "a star is born" astounded me. and i still love it today.

but the real reason these mentions of last night are so memorable are the renditions done for them. bettye lavette doing love reign over me. it's in the center of this complilation, and it was for me the heart of the matter last night. that performance was worth the 2 hours viewing. stellar.



i look forward to tomorrow, and i am sad to say so long to today. thank goodness i have music to help get me through.

happy new year.

at the movies

i was surfing when i realized that one of the most impactful dents in the panic on aids in america was theatrical. in the theatre, i mean. it could be the most comprehensive and influential tactic that has been used in prevention and with education that we have.

in more impoverished nations and cultures from malawi to india, theatre and theatre workshops are now being looked at as a way of educating persons in rural areas and keeping their attention without seeming condescending. of course, that is a danger. good theatre needs to engage and compel the spectator to come in, sit down, and take their shoes off. i really believe that requires a personal touch to be evident.

here is an interesting direction that prevention and education have taken to address the needs of more hard-to-reach populations.

in my mind, it is so much more effective to see someone's life played out. my heart becomes involved and that is where i connect with a situation, and idea, or a concept. that is also where i learn a great deal. and i have learned how to cope, and how to survive in many ways through the arts.

when i think about the sheer number of broadway plays, small independent films, documentaries, and blockbusters that have been made about hiv/aids, i get dizzy(er). of course, i found several online lists compiled, but i haven't seen a comprehensive one. I chose this list because to me it demonstrates the successful component that is given when the author/producer is personally and evidently affected.

And the Band Played On

This is an amazing dramatization of the book by the late Randy Shilts, the great journalist in San Francisco who helped make gay rights and AIDS issues prevalent in the mainstream media. Starring Matthew Modine, Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin, Ian McKellan, Angelica Houston and Alan Alda, this brave film attempts to expose how ineptitude and in-fighting amongst various agencies and organizations impacted the early spread of AIDS. This film is excellently acted and a must-see to remind ourselves of the atrocities of the early to mid-1980s. The film was made for HBO.

As Is

PBS’ production of the stellar Boradway hit by William Hoffman, this film chronicles the lives of two-ex lovers who are drawn back together by the AIDS crisis.

The film stars Robert Carradine and the legendary Colleen Dewhurst.

Before Night Falls

Here is an amazing film about the life of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, who struggled powerfully against censorship, homophobia, political oppression and the eventual disintegration of his body brought on by AIDS. The film, powerful and poetically directed by Julian Schnabel, features a bravura, Oscar-nominated performance by Javier Bardem in the title role.

An Early Frost

Starring Aidan Quinn, Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands, this NBC movie was one of the first films made about the disease. Here is the story of a family who discover that their son is both gay and dying of AIDS. The films is powerful and eloquent in a silent yet stirring manner.

The Hours

Directed by out director Stephen Daldry, and based on out writer Michael Cunningham’s novel, this is an amazing film with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Juliane Moore. The film powerfully interweaves three separate stories, all connected by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Streep’s character, Clarissa, is throwing a party for her ex-lover who is dying of AIDS (played by Ed Harris). A must see.

In the Gloaming

Robert Sean Leonard plays Danny, a young man dying of AIDS, in this HBO film. He returns home to his family to spend his last days with them. Glenn Close plays his mother and Whoopi Goldberg co-stars in this moving and powerful film.

It’s My Party

Nick, played by Eric Roberts, realizes that he has only a few days to live due to a very rare AIDS-related disorder. He decides to throw a two-day farewell party where he invites his friends and his ex, Brandon. The film is both funny and poignant and has an amazing list of cameos by George segal, Olivia Newton-John, Marlee Matlin and Margaret Cho.

Longtime Companion

This is the best and most powerful film made on the subject. With Oscar-worthy performances by Campbell Scott, Mary Louise-Parker and Stephen Caffrey, and a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for Bruce Davison, the film chronicles the lives of gay men in New York when the epidemic was just breaking. A personal and gripping film, Longtime Companion is quite simply one of the best films of the 1990s.

Parting Glances

Along with An Early Frost and As Is, Parting Glances (1986) is one of the first films dealing with AIDS. Of the three, it is the only one that was released theatrically. Instead of focusing on the theme of someone coming home to die, it dealt more with the friends of someone with AIDS helping him to truly live. The movie also was one of the first major roles for Steve Buscemi, of Fargo and Reservoir Dogs fame.

Philadelphia

Jonathan Demme, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas teamed up to give Hollywood’s first mainstream portayal of the disease. Even though the film is skittish about male-to-male contact and sexuality, the film is a powerful rendition of not only the disease, but also the way in which it is used to discriminate against people.

Zero Patience
John Greyson’s avant-garde film is an AIDS musical which traces the notion of the alleged Patient Zero who supposedly brought AIDS to America.

This quirky, funny, yet powerful movie deals with Sir Richard Burton, an explorer and sexologist, who is preparing a museum exhibit about Gaetan Dugas, the flight attendant accused of being Patient Zero. Greyson has created several larger Busby Berkeley-styled musical numbers to create the lurid world of his film.

....by Kaizaad Kotwal at evenings out

today's sound choice was definitely pentimento- "i'll cover you" from rent

evergreen

“Love yourself first and everything falls into line” Lucille Ball

i worked an event in evergreen on saturday. it was in the upper bear creek area which is a bit exclusive and phenomenally beautiful. i drove up about 20 minutes early to get some shots for the blog. i came up yesterday for a few hours to help set up and realized just how very striking this area is. colorado is quite breathtaking for that matter, and i forget to share this fact.

so i couldn't help but post this song from "a star is born". i guess they are classics for a reason. i actually loved this song (and film) when it came out. barbra's fashion choices in the film are nothing short of hoot. of course, this is a later recording, but i think it holds up. a litte bittersweet perhaps, and i trust a little hopeful as well. i mean, time does change us doesn't it? we all age don't we? and may be we all secretly wish to remain evergreen.

btw, i have posted a new playlist in the sidebar called "finding emo" emo = emotional. i'm not the dj, but i think it's fresh. anyway, there are lots of really new artists and new music, so take a minute and have some fun.

the flim flam man

i realize now that i really am naive at times. i cannot change that, but hopefully i will grow. i somehow believed that because my intentions are basically honest and good, that i would be protected from any more of the flim flam men that have passed through my life since i was so young. but truth be told, just because i have changed, the rest of the world has no such obligation or directive to follow suit. part of me finds myself at this juncture, feeling as if i have been greased up and bent over. but in my heart, i know that this is really only my ego and not a true reflection of how things are.

i have been graced with the opportunity to have affected quite a bit of change these last 3 years in my hamlet. and i have worked with and met some amazing people. i have witnessed several miracles. i can see growth and regrouping in a poz gay men's movement here. i have participated in a twelfth step to the entire metro area. and have been part of a program which received national recognition for making a difference in the delivery of hiv services. and i have seen several gay men change the course of their lives by getting sober, and start to feel better about themselves. and i cannot forget that i have begun to win back the trust and respect of family and friends that had been so lustfully damaged, not to mention that i am able to look at myself in the mirror without looking away instantly. these are miracles.

and babs sings the very thoughts i've been thinking.

Hands off the man
Flim flam man
His mind is up his sleeve
And his talk is make believe
Oh Lord, the man's a fraud
He's the flim flam man
He's so cagey
He's a flim flam man
Hands off the man
Flim flam man
He's the One In the Trojan Horse Making
Making out like he's Santa Claus
Oh Lord, the man's a fraud
He's a flim flam man
He's a fox
He's a flim flam man
Everybody wants him
The people and the police
And all the pretty ladies disarmed
Oh, oh, yeah, the beautiful gent
You know he has hardly a cent
He pays his monthly rent......
With the daily charm
Hands off the man
Flim flam man
His mind is up his sleeve
And his talk is make believe
Oh, Lord, the man's a fraud
He's a flim flam man
He's an artist
He's a flim flam man
He's so cagey
He's a flim flam men
He's a fox
She's a fool
Flim flam man.
Oh, don't worry
He's dishonest, so don't believe in him
He's a flim flam man...