Brokeback Mountain Makes Her Cry
I have been known to see certain films so many times Tony loses patience. Films like The Help, The Color Purple, Driving Miss Daisy, and Fried Green Tomatoes I’ve seen so many times I can’t count. If Silver Linings Playbook were to come on TV every night for the next year, I think Tony would lose his mind. That’s how much I love certain films, and Sliver Linings Playbook, for various reasons, but mostly because of the content and the way they were done.
But this article praising Brokeback Mountain isn’t something to which I can relate. The author, a woman named Tola Onanuga, claims she loves the movie so much it makes her cry. I have seen Brokeback Mountain and I’ve read the short story it was based upon, but only once, in each case, because I’m not sure I could get through either one a second time. The printed story…it was a story, not a book…is better than the film, for me. But once was enough.
In any event, here’s an excerpt from the article:
Its most tear-jerking scenes occur on one of Ennis and Jack’s many trips back to Brokeback Mountain, where they first struck up a friendship while working as labourers. I’m sure I’m not alone in wincing as a visibly shaken Ennis recalls being forced by his father to view the mutilated body of a man killed in a suspected homophobic attack. The unbearable savagery of a person being ripped to pieces chills me to the bone.
A more subtle but no less painful moment occurs during a tense argument in which Jack, ever the idealist, reveals his dream to settle down with Ennis, buy some land together and live out the rest of their lives in a peaceful idyll. The depth of Ennis’s self-loathing is fully revealed when he flatly rejects the suggestion, leaving Jack crushed and defeated.
I liked BM for the most part, but I found more than one issue with the storyline. There were times when I just didn’t believe something that happened in the film would actually happen that way to a gay man…in 1960, 1980, or even in 2015. In fact, there’s one scene in the film I know wouldn’t happen. And that bothered me, because I wanted so much more from the film. I think films like The Children’s Hour, with Shirley MacLaine handle the lesbian theme over 50 years ago with more authenticity. But then I’m not totally sure about that because I’m not a lesbian and I can’t speak for lesbians on that one. I wouldn’t argue that point either, because the lesbian gets the last word with the lesbian movie.
You can read more here. I know how much many of you loved BM and to a certain extent I get that. The film did open up new doors in many ways that hadn’t been open before. It also introduced people to gay men who had never known anything about gay men before. I get that, too. I also know it’s all subjective.
Naked Men Eat Sushi
Now here’s something I could watch more than once…cute naked men eating sushi. I love both…naked men and sushi.
If you’re fans of BuzzFeed’s perenially-nude “Try Guys” (and, really, who among us isn’t?), you were probably wondering how the playful boys would celebrate their favorite holiday, April Fool’s Day. Naturally, they found a new way to get naked, surprise their coworkers and potentially ruin sushi for everyone forever. As one of the guys says, “We have a weird job.” Indeed. Will their warm bodies turn the sushi into baked fish? Watch the video below to find out.
There’s more here. Check out the photo. It won’t make you wince, and it won’t chill you to the bone, but you will be able to look at it more than once.
Sorry Girls He’s Gay
I love the tone of this article. And I’m glad I’m living in a time when I can witness something like this…when the guy who is everyone’s dream in high school turns out to be gay and NOT interested in the cheerleaders.
Sorry, girls.
I just wanted to come out in a unique way. I was at my friend’s house and thought, what if I just Photoshopped a picture of a rainbow behind me? Then I looked at more pictures online and saw the picture I used, which was more retro, it was more of a cartoon. What if I cropped out his face and used my face instead? People describe me as a person who doesn’t really conform. I wanted to do something different than people just announcing that they’re gay. I wanted to come out in my own way, since that’s how I feel coming out should be. I wanted to do it in a fun sort of way and so it wasn’t awkward.”
I just wish I could delete the comments that follow. Some free speech should never see the light of day.
You can check the rest out there.
Free Gay Excerpt
Here’s a free excerpt from my upcoming book in the Rainbow Detective Series. In the book there’s something very unusual I’ve never written about before. It’s not really a spoiler if I tell now because it does come out fairly soon in the story. One of the characters has diphallia…a man born with two penises instead of one. You can look it up. It’s a real thing that can and does happen to some men.
Even after all this time, there were still mornings when Proctor Gamble had serious misgivings about his decision to remain in business with Blair Huntingdon to keep The Rainbow Detective Agency open. After the last two important cases they took on wound up making Proctor more money than he’d ever imagined he could make outside of modeling, he’d resigned himself to the pragmatic thought process that he could continue to do this in order to survive.
He’d also gained more media attention than he’d had since he’d modeled for the silly male underwear ads he’d done in his twenties that had made him rich and famous. But more important, deep down he felt such a thrill after each case he’d solved with Blair he finally felt complete as a man in ways he found hard to understand.
This time he wasn’t getting paid for his hot body, his perfect hair, or the bulge that protruded between his legs whenever he wore tight jeans. He wasn’t just the hunk. He was doing something of substance and making a difference in the world. He was more than just that ass.
If Blair’s constant game-playing and lack of professional ethics hadn’t ruined every serious moment they shared, Proctor’s life wouldn’t have been half bad. It was the oddest thing. To look at him, Blair could have been a male model himself, with his dark hair, lean wiry body, and well-defined features. When he opened his mouth to speak and his smooth voice filled a room with articulate sentences and impressive words that sounded more serious than they were, Blair could have been mistaken for a brilliant college professor. He wore flashy clothes, drove the right car, and deep down had a heart of pure gold. If Blair could have figured out a way to separate the obtuse from the dignified he might have been perfect husband material.
This was the entire problem that left Proctor wide awake in bed at night wondering how long he could continue trying to be professional. It was the issue that made his face hot with each act of idiocy Blair did, and the reason why he wanted to throw Blair through the office window at least three or four times a day. No matter how serious Proctor tried to be, Blair continued to undermine his every move with ridiculous antics that always seemed to get worse each time Proctor turned his back.
On one bright sunny morning in Los Angeles when Proctor was feeling better than he had in weeks, he stood outside the office door and felt a pull deep in his gut. The day had started out well enough. He’d risen early, he’d had coffee with his Bengal cat, Constance, and his devoted personal assistant, Jane, and he’d gone for a long refreshing hike in Runyon Canyon. Although at thirty-six years old they considered him too old to model, he still maintained his twenty-six year old body and he often did personal public appearances. Thanks to that one infamous underwear poster he’d done in his twenties he would always be a pop culture icon in some respects and he wanted to keep his image alive as long as he could. He also found hiking and strenuous work outs soothing to his mind and soul as well. Without exercise he wasn’t sure how he’d survive emotionally.
He stood outside the main reception area of his office listening to loud music and rolled his eyes. His face grew hot and he felt that urge to kick something. It was that ridiculous new pop song that was something about the bass that Blair was always singing around the office without even realizing it. It made every hair on Proctor’s body stand on end.
Who wouldn’t get frustrated about all this? It was Monday morning. Who on earth has an office party first thing on Monday morning?
Proctor dreaded opening the door to see what was going on inside the office. They had a small staff, including the office manager, Alvin Schlock. He heard Alvin’s high pitched squeal and another staff member’s deep throaty laugh. The endless repetitive song continued to blast and Proctor’s face grew redder and warmer with each bang of the bass drum. Why he had to suffer these frequent hells after all the hard work he’d done in his life made him want to break down the office door and scream. To be at the top of his game in his late twenties and now reduced to this insane drudgery in his mid-thirties wasn’t fair. Up until his business manager had run off with all his money and left him in debt his life had been so charmed people joked they saw little birds flying over his head. Now the birds were gone and he always felt knee deep in shit.
He took a deep breath and pushed the door slowly. He glanced into the reception area with his eyes wide open and held his breath. He took a step into the office and tightened his fists. No one even noticed him, not even Alvin Schlock. They were all too busy jumping around like idiots cheering for the male stripper who was twerking on top of Alvin Schlock’s desk.
Then Alvin noticed Proctor and he cut the music fast. While Proctor stood dead still sending a blank glance into the room, the rest of the staff turned and gaped at him. Even the male stripper stopped moving. He stood atop the desk wearing nothing but a red thong, with his hands on his hips and a confused expression. The only one who didn’t stop moving out of sheer terror was Blair.
