Category: james franco

THE DEUCE, James Franco, and Male Full Frontal Nudity; How Nico Tortorella Identifies, Ah-gain; The Benham Brothers: Unhinged Rant

The Deuce, James Franco, and Male Full Frontal Nudity

There’s a new HBO series out titled, The Deuce, starring James Franco. I watched the pilot last night and I noticed there’s male full frontal nudity. It’s not your average male full frontal nudity, though. This full frontal moves fast, and there are erections. This full frontal works with the story. It’s not just some cliche guy dressing or undressing for the sake of getting naked and showing off. Of course James Franco didn’t do a full frontal scene with his erection…yet…but you never know.

From what I gather, the premise behind the show is the rise of legalized porn in New York during the 1970s. Most people today don’t realize that until the 1990s Times Square was not the family friendly place it is today. It was rough, especially near the Port Authority. 

The Deuce is an American drama television series set in and around Times Square, New York. Created and written by author and former police reporter David Simon and his frequent collaborator George Pelecanos, the series pilot began shooting in October 2015. It was picked up to series in January 2016.It is broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The first season consists of eight episodes. HBO made the pilot available through its video on demand services and affiliate portals on August 25, 2017.The series officially premiered on September 10, 2017.

There’s more here. The show itself is actually very good, and Franco nails his part as the lead. In fact, Franco may have outdone himself this time, that’s how good it is. He may get an award for this one. And, I’m told the way they portray Manhattan in the 1970s is about as accurate as it gets. All I know is the time flew by, I like the characters, and I’m watching the entire series now.

How Nico Tortorella Identifies, Ah-gain

I’m trying have patience with this guy. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. But frankly, after watching all those annoying promotions for the TV show Younger (a show I will never, ever watch) during Everybody Loves Raymond commercial breaks, and reading about how Nico does or does not identify time and again, I’m getting a little jaded…to the point where I honestly don’t care anymore how he identifies.

In any event, here’s the latest.

“I’m not in an open relationship so I can go out and just fuck whoever I want,” he says. “For me, it’s more about the ability to emotionally connect with people outside of my primary partner.”
Steve Ward, the CEO of Matchmakers, appears absolutely befuddled about all this polyamory business happening right under all of our noses.

You can check that out here.   I’m from the school of thought that says not everything needs to be discussed this openly in public. But that’s just me.

The Benham Brothers: Unhinged Rant

Here’s another story about those two Christian Benham brothers who have made a name for themselves through anti-gay rhetoric. I would imagine they’re making money, too.

This is the latest. Once again, they take it upon themselves to actually speak for God…

“As a nation,” they continue, “if you would have told us back then, in 2001, that in 2017 we would be completely redefining what gender means, what marriage means, what sexuality means … I would’ve–I would’ve said, ‘there’s no way that would happen in this country!’”

The rest is here. There’s a photo of them, and in spite of their wholesome Christian lifestyle they don’t look as though they are aging well at all.

Said With Care


A PG Rated Gay Romance



Not All Gay Books Have Sex
In Their Prime by Ryan Field



Brent Corrigan On King Cobra Movie; Real Life Queer Stories; That Gay Single Life

Brent Corrigan On James Franco’s King Cobra Movie

Even though the independent film community has given straight James Franco and his film, King Cobra, “acclaim,” I still think it’s important to hear comments and thoughts from  a gay perspective. Not an LGBT perspective this time. There’s a difference. I’m talking about only the “G” in LGBT. A gay perspective, with respect to gay culture and a gay man’s POV. And sometimes that’s VERY different from LGBT.

But more than that, since the film was allegedly based on the early years of Brent Corrigan’s film career, without his input, his thoughts are even more important.

However, the real Corrigan/Lockhart has lashed out once again at the production, accusing Hollywood of “bastardising my early years in porn”

You can read more of this here, where Corrigan talks about a book he’s writing, from his own experience and perspective.

And this is from an earlier article on the same topic.

In a post to Facebook, Corrigan said: “The internet has been a buzz regarding some recent news that a movie is being filmed right now in New York State chronicling the Bryan Kocis murder and the early days of my adult career.
“I was originally approached to be a part of the film as a consultant and the cast. I was asked to play a small part in the film and declined the role.
He added: “Ultimately, I chose to move forward with my own plans to finally release my book in place of taking part in someone else’s presentation of events that I personally lived as a young adult.

You can read that one here.

I can’t comment because I have no intention of seeing King Cobra. But I will read Corrigan’s book when it’s released.

Real Life Queer Stories

I saw this on Twitter recently and thought I would share. It’s a web site filled with real life LGBT stories coming from real LGBT people.

I very clearly remember being 13 and being a bit concerned that I might not actually be straight as I had expected to be. I also remember thinking, ‘don’t be stupid, of course you’re not,’ and burying it deep inside where I didn’t deal with it for nearly ten years. Ahhhh, adolescence. Of course I…

You can check this one out here. It’s a simple web site that’s smooth to navigate. And you would be amazed at how much Twitter opens the world to all people coming from the LGBT community. It’s not like Facebook.

That Gay Single Life

Here’s a post with more of those memes that have quotes. This time from single gay men. The premise is that it’s okay to be single.

I’m a single gay guy and all I want is a husband…until I take a close look at my friends’ relationships and I’m all like “ew but not like that.” 

I actually think some gay men are happier being single and they function better. At least that’s what I’ve seen from personal experience through more than a few good single friends. I would imagine the same goes for straight people.

Here’s the rest.

Unabated





The Arrangement 

Poison Gay Wedding Cakes? Perez Hilton in Underwear; James Franco Kissing Gay Man

Poison Gay Wedding Cakes?

I’m starting this post with the fact that everyone who follows me knows I do, and always will, support equality and gay marriage. Most people also know I’m not very political. That should go without saying, however, the way things get turned around these days you clearly have to cover every last fucking track you leave.

The headline reads, Conservative US pundit jokes about poison in wedding cakes for same-sex couples, which is probably one of the most misleading headlines I think I’ve ever seen. Notice how they don’t even capitalize headlines anymore. They’re talking about something conservative pundit, Ben Carson, said recently during a conference. At a glance, they spin it to make it look as though Carson is doing a comedy routine about poisoning gay couples with wedding cakes when in reality he was giving an extreme example of something that could happen.

Here’s what was said:

‘What I have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs because they say “they’re discriminating against me,”‘ Carson said, according to The Hill. 

‘So they can go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let’s bring a suit against this person because I want them to make my cake even though they don’t believe in it,’ he continued. ‘Which is really not all that smart because they might put poison in that cake.’

I don’t agree with anything Ben Carson stands for. He makes me gag. He’s a tool for Fox news and a good one at that. I’m sure he’s compensated well just like all other pundits, including our very own Rachel Maddow. But if you think that what he said suggests in any way he would like to see anti-gay bakeries put poison in gay wedding cakes I feel very sorry for you, because that means “they” have accomplished “their” goal.

You can read the rest here. In an ironic twist, it’s actually a great example of bad journalism that fuels people like Ben Carson and helps make them even more money than they already have.

I call bullshit on this one.

Perez Hilton in Underwear

This is only post-worthy because I’ve already posted twice about Perez Hilton being a house guest on the UK’s version of Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother.  Evidently, Hilton did not get evicted from the house this week, and was so excited about it he stripped down to his underwear.

Host Emma Willis said it was a very close eviction, with 1% separating the bottom three contestants on the UK reality TV show. 

Hilton was then seen stripping down to his underwear and licking his own skin as he celebrated his victory, despite crowds outside the house chanting: ‘Get Perez out!’ 

My new rule this year on the blog is that I’m not knocking other gay people…unless it really, really needs to be said. In this case, I’m keeping my mouth shut.

You can read the rest here. Stay tuned for more Perez and CBB. 

James Franco Kissing Gay Man

I’ve been ignoring most things related to James Franco, frankly because I find him a little dull lately. He seems to be going to camp. And I’m one of the four people in the world who actually “got” his novel, Actors Anonymous, and reviewed it with five stars.

Of course the way he’s been promoting his new film, I Am Michael, is pure cultural appropriation…because he’s straight playing gay. The nasty little fucker is laughing at us, and I also think with us, and people are loving every minute of it. So I can’t actually knock Francofor being good at what he does. In fact, he’s overpowered this film so much no one even realizes Zachary Quinto is in it.

Franco plays Michael Glatze – the man who went from gay, proud and founder of a gay twink magazine to become a pastor and the poster boy for the ‘ex-gay’ movement. 

Quinto plays his former boyfriend and at one point in the film they take part in a steamy threesome scene with Teen Wolf star Charlie Carver. (see photo below)

The rest of the article is here. 

The reviews are interesting, at least from what I’ve seen. I won’t run out to see this one, but I probably will see it eventually.

Chase of a Lifetime

 
 

Sony Attackers and James Franco; HIV Stigma Continues; Nash Grier and Homophobia;

Sony Attackers and James Franco

This isn’t something I would normally post, but since I’ve been following the interesting gay baiting tactics James Franco and Seth Rogan continue to do all over social media I think it’s the most important Franco related story out there to date. At least it beats his pretending to suck Seth Rogan’s face.

The Sony Attackers, who refer to themselves as The Guardians of Peace, are now threatening horrific terrorist attacks at movie theaters where Franco and Rogan’s film, The Interview, will be playing. The film is a satire about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. According to many reviews so far, this movie really sucks and that has nothing to do with terrorists. This is from Variety:

Oppressive, fascistic dictatorships have proved fertile ground for comic filmmakers from Chaplin and Lubitsch to Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino (whose “Inglourious Basterds” is another obvious reference point here). But “The Interview” is scarcely as funny or absurd as the average news item about North Korea itself, with two main characters who are so aggressively annoying that you secretly hope the assassination plot will turn against them. Franco, who can be an inspired, inventive actor when he wants to be, plays Skylark as a smart person’s idea of a stupid person, and after a while his puppyish energy and incessant ear-to-ear grin become toxic to behold. Rogen, meanwhile, soldiers along as dutifully as he can, playing his sad-sack Sancho Panza routine to diminishing returns. Where oh where are Team America: World Police when we really need them?

But this, below, sounds very serious, and the bad reviews aren’t the only reason The Interview is making headlines:

“We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places [sic] “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to,” the chilling message reads.

“Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made,” it continues. “The world will be full of fear.

“Remember the 11th of September 2001.”

The hackers caution people from going to the showings and even advise them to leave their homes if they live close to a theater showing the film.

“The Interview” is set to premiere on Christmas Day.

 You can read the rest here.

The article goes on to mention more about the Sony attacks. There are varying opinions everywhere on the entire topic. Some say we’re giving in to terrorists by avoiding the film. Some are genuinely afraid. Others don’t feel the need to support another bad film by Franco and Rogan just to make a statement.

HIV Stigma Continues

I’ve posted more than once about how HIV and the stigma attached to it continues to fester all over the world, even here in the US. There’s an interesting study out, and here are a few findings.

  • 97 percent of people interviewed reported experiencing at least one legal issue in the past year.

  • On average, respondents reported having over six such issues in the past year alone. Some of the top areas included consumer law and debt (48%), accessing health care (46%), housing (43%), and immigration (18.9%).

  • Over 1 in 4 reported experiencing HIV discrimination within the last 5 years (28%). 16 percent reported it within the last year alone.
  • Of respondents who reported experiencing HIV discrimination within the last year, over half experienced discrimination in health care settings, one third in employment, and almost one fifth in housing.

  • Despite the large number of legal needs, only 16 percent of individuals who identified a legal need received legal assistance. Of those who tried to access legal services, 20 percent felt that their legal provider was insensitive to people living with HIV.

I posted about my dealings as POA with my HIV poz friend who had to fight to get his disability insurance reactivated after it was denied due to a mix up at a doctor’s office…took him over six months to get it back. We needed an attorney to handle that. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it alone.

What they don’t go into detail about is the stigma within the gay community itself when it comes to HIV. 

The rest is here. 

Nash Grier and Homophobia

I’ve also posted about Nash Grier, a Vine star, who posted what’s been dubbed as a homophobic rant on Vine. This time I’m on his side and I think the gay guy who wrote this article needs a kick in his big gay ass.

The video is about HIV/AIDS and ends with Grier screaming the word “FAAAAAG!” before smirking into the camera.

Even though Grier received praise from the idiots in his small North Carolina high school at the time of the video release, it didn’t go over well with the rest of the world and Grier has been taking heat from it ever since. The article to which I’m linking doesn’t even have an ounce of sympathy for him. And frankly, I find that highly disingenuous of the author since this particular publication I’m linking to is the first to exploit and sensationalize gay men, the first to promote gay baiting, the first to pass off advertorials as real articles, and the first to present the fresh hells of all things queer for the sake of clickbait. I could run out of room if I continue to list them. But I digress.

I feel sorry for Grier. He was young and he made a mistake. And now he’s on a campaign to rectify his mistake. He wrote an op-ed piece for Huff Po.

“As humans we’re going to make mistakes,” Grier writes. “I, Nash Grier, have made more mistakes than I can remember. Some big, some small, some nobody has seen, and some millions of people have seen.”

He includes this, in his very heartfelt, honest, humble apology.

“I never once had a problem with someone’s sexuality or sexual preference,” Grier insists. “I can’t stress to you enough how far off the title ‘homophobic’ is from my actual personality.”

He continues to apologize and give examples to the point where he might be overcompensating a little bit. But he’s just a kid, an honest young guy who’s trying his best. He’s not the President with advisers…and he’s not a big movie star like James Franco laughing at gay people daily. Who in this world is so perfect they’ve never said or done something they regret? And yet THIS is what the gay asshole who wrote the article said:


In all seriousness, we’re not about to continue holding a grudge against a teenager. He did a dumb thing. We know it. He knows it. So, Nashy boy, we’ll accept your apology. Hell, we’ll accept your acceptance and respect, too. But then we’re going to cast you back off into obscurity.

Bon voyage.

Well, Nash, just so you know. Not all gay people feel that same way that snarky asshole feels. I’m gay and I believe your apology and I don’t think you’re homophobic. It takes a big person to apologize that way in public. I think it’s the first real apology I’ve seen regarding this issue. Don’t let some hack of a writer who’ll do anything for a buck like the one above push you into obscurity.

Welcome.


The rest is here.  The comments are mixed. Evidently, a few agree with me. A few don’t seem to be up on technology or the way celebrity and fandom is changing, with respect to up and coming Vine and Youtube stars.

Chase of a Christmas Dream



 
 
 
 

James Franco Allegedly Attacks Photographer; Obama on Gay Marriage; Robert Downey Jr’s Penis

James Franco Allegedly Attacks Photographer

Here’s more on James Franco again, and I’m a little surprised because he always seems so calculated and in control…cunning in a brilliant way, as if you have to watch his every move and be a few steps ahead.

Allegedly, Franco was at an event in Hollywood that was being held in some graveyard and on his way out he tackled a photographer on the grass. There are photos circulating that show Franco smiling as if it’s all a joke. I searched a few “reputable” sources online, about as reputable as you can get online these days, and found this.

The cameraman, however, is not the least bit amused even if the tackling was supposed to be all in good fun. He went down to a LAPD station the following morning, at which time he filed a report against the actor for what he had done. The report details the man’s claims that he had been injured following his fall, suffering a minor injury to his back based on the way he had fallen. He also alleges that his camera equipment had been damaged during the incident, and is no longer usable in the same manner thanks to Franco’s actions. Police authorities have since given the statement to popular gossip website TMZ that they plan on passing the case onto the appropriate detectives as of next week, who will do their best to inquire further into the situation and see if amends need to be made on the Franco’s part.
You can read more here. Several other articles out there mention a few other incidents Franco has had with the law. And this one goes on to mention another privileged celebrity and his incident with a photographer.
Obama on Gay Marriage
Whether you like President Obama or not, one thing remains certain: he’s good with the social issues that most politicians just tend to ignore. And anything gay related is up there in the top ten of the issue ignoring list. This time the President recently commented on gay marriage, and how he believes it should be legal in all 50 states according to the constitution. 
He described it as a ‘consequential and powerful signal of the changes that have taken place in society and that the law is having to catch up’. 
Obama, who first said he ‘evolved’ on gay marriage in May 2012, said the high court was ‘not quite ready’ to ‘indicate an equal-protection right across the board’. 
‘Ultimately, I think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all 50 states,’ he said.
It seems, as gay marriage moves forward in all 50 states, it’s coming down to religion vs civil rights. I think anyone running for office these days should pay attention and listen closely. The gay vote doesn’t always go in the same direction, especially not with younger gay men.
You can read more of what Obama said here.
Robert Downey Jr’s Penis
Try to imagine this. An actor, Robert Downey Jr., is invited to speak at a prestigious university, Cambridge, to a highly select group at the university, and one of those students of the entitlement generation ask Downey how large his penis is. And better, the rest of them laugh and giggle. I have a sense of humor that goes beyond most people these days, and I’m not fond of the PC police at all, but I do think there should be a certain amount of respect shown to any speaker in all situations like this…without question. 
In any event, Downey replied very well:
They don’t call me throbbing knob for nothing. His expression is priceless. Someone else might have gone after the kid.
You can see a video of the reply here. If anyone had asked a woman this same question about her vagina it would have been blasted all over the Internet and social media as misogynist, anti-feminist, and hate speech toward all woman. Jennifer Lawrence would never let you hear the end of it. Shouldn’t it work the same way for men in similar awkward positions?
Too Hard to Handle



by Ryan Field
Speaking to The New Yorker, Obama said the best Supreme Court decisions since he took office was the recent rejection of gay marriage appeals from five states.
He described it as a ‘consequential and powerful signal of the changes that have taken place in society and that the law is having to catch up’.
Obama, who first said he ‘evolved’ on gay marriage in May 2012, said the high court was ‘not quite ready’ to ‘indicate an equal-protection right across the board’.
‘Ultimately, I think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all 50 states,’ he said.
– See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/obama-i-think-constitution-calls-gay-marriage-be-legal-all-50-states201014#sthash.4qnqRKKg.dpuf

James Franco’s Orals; Doubdickdude’s Video; President Obama on Joan Rivers

James Franco’s Orals

Sorry, this isn’t about James Franco and Gay oral sex. I wish it were, but it’s not. But he would have taken advantage of that title so I figured why not do it myself.

The title is not completely misleading. James Franco did do orals this week, at Yale University. I don’t have any links to give because the media seems to go dead when Franco actually does something that most people would think is worthy. Maybe there will be a few, but as of right now I didn’t see anything.

But I did see this. It’s a link to Franco’s fracebook page where he’s standing with a group of what I assume are professors, posting about passing his orals. It’s one of his better images because it’s real…no Beyoncé photo shopping deal there.

You see, this is the kind of thing that frustrates me most about Franco. He does five or six dumb things and gets all kind of attention for it…like shaving his head or getting a tattoo…and then he does something absolutely fantastic like this and he only promotes it on Facebook. I’ve done orals; they aren’t easy.

Of course most of the comments on the status update are congratulatory, but some devolve into the smut you’d expect, mostly laced with gay slurs. But that’s not Franco’s fault. It is what it is.

Doubledickdude’s Video

A while back I posted about a guy with two penises, Doubledickdude. He made headlines and seems to be popular on Twitter. I follow him on Twitter and today I saw this. Oddly enough, and I swear this happened by accident, the post I did previously on Doubledickdude also involved James Franco and an open letter by someone from the Village Voice.

And there’s even an open letter in The Village Voice to James Franco about the guy with two penises.

Let’s get through the superficial reasons first. This magical male unicorn (er, twonicorn?) is anonymous, which I estimate will last about another week. But here’s what we know about him so far: he’s sex-positive, brave, bisexual, and in a committed relationship with a man and a woman who’ve given him permission to cheat — but only with you.

Well, I guess the author of THAT piece was wrong in one respect. Doubledickdude is still around, and a lot of people find him interesting. I do. But that piece was from the Village Voice and they used be a lot edgier than they are now. In fact, the Village Voice was once the Grindr of yesteryear in hard copy, where you could hook up with anyone for any kind of sex. I’m not sure if they still do that. But that’s what it used to be.

But I digress. Here’s Doubledickdude’s video. It is SFW. I’m not posting it here because Youtube is having issues sharing today. But I think it’s interesting.

President Obama on Joan Rivers

A while back I also posted about a joke Joan Rivers made about the President and First Lady, with gay references. I can’t find the link now, but it was a gay joke that sent some PC elite liberals into a tailspin, and I commented on it at the time. In any event, President Obama seems to have understood Joan Rivers’ comedy and her brand of wit. So much that he wrote a letter to Melissa Rivers after Joan’s death, in condolence.

During the TV special tonight entitled, Fashion Police: Celebrating Joan, the comedy icon’s daughter will read a handwritten letter she received from President Obama after her mother’s death.

Says Rivers in a preview clip: ‘I received a letter from the White House from President Obama, someone who was often a target of her jokes, as was Mrs. Obama.’

She then goes on to read from the letter: ‘Not only did she make us laugh, she made us think.’

 Rivers then shared her own observation: ‘I think that’s one of the things people now are realizing. It wasn’t just the funny, she made us think.’

And that’s really what it’s all about.  You can read the rest here.

 
 
Books in the Glendora Hill Series
 
 
 

Free Gay Book Allromance; Kink: James Franco; Franco’s Book Review; Florida Marriage Ban; Kristin Chenoweth Gay Marriage;

Kink: James Franco

James Franco has been getting on a lot of nerves lately with the constant self-promotion that’s almost like spamming the world in some cases, not to mention gay baiting. However, he did release something interesting this time and I think it’s worth posting the information here. And only because I think my readers will be interested.

James Franco fine-tunes his kinky image today with the trailer debut for Kink, his most recent completed film project that takes you behind-the-scenes at San Francisco’s Armory, home of Kink.com, the largest BDSM porn empire on Earth.

I posted about Kink.com and the PC police earlier this week here. They’re planning a fantasy prison party at SF pride next year and it’s ruffled a few ultra liberal PC feathers, so to speak. Frankly, I think the more they go PC in some cases the less we take them seriously anymore.

Here’s part of the description about Kink, the film. You can read the rest here.

In kink, we discover not only a fascinating and often misunderstood subculture, but also, in a career far from the mainstream, a group of intelligent, charismatic, and driven people who really, truly love what they do.

As an erotic romance writer, and published erotic author in more places than I can count now, I think it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles the topic. When I wrote this piece for the non-fic book, Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, I found one that the huge disappointment from people in the lifestyle was that they didn’t think the novel Fifty Shades of Grey did justice to BDSM. Many thought it was a mockery of the lifestyle. Some publications insulted women readers calling it “Mommy Porn.” And, a whole lot of people were down right pissed it was Twilight Fanfic. Let’s hope Franco’s film isn’t more of the same.

Here’s one review for Kink from The Hollywood Reporter.

Here’s another I found interesting.

Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any parts in the film where James Franco is tied up and he gets his sweet little ass spanked.

Franco’s Book Review

In another unrelated piece about James Franco that I saw on social media yesterday, I’m linking to a book review (I think that’s what it is…it could a piece about the author, though) he wrote for an online publication, and the author of the book is William Gay. William Gay is the author’s pen name…according to Franco he’s the twin brother of Cormac McCarthy. I’m sure the name Gay is purely coincidental.

In any event, here’s an excerpt from the review/article:

I was first introduced to Gay’s writing by my former City by the Sea co-star, Anson Mount, who also teaches acting at Columbia University and stars in Hell on Wheels. Mount came to see me on Broadway in Of Mice and Men. Backstage, after the show, we were chatting about movies and literary things. He mentioned this book by a Tennessee writer with the unfortunate title of Twilight. The bookwas released around the same time as the vampire Twilight, which forced it to be talked about with introductions that made it clear it had nothing to do with teen vamps, but was a macabre coming of age story in its right.

You can check out that book here, on Amazon, where there are more in-depth reviews about it. Most seem to be positive. It’s interesting to note that Franco’s own writing talent comes through in this piece, as always, and I find it a shame he doesn’t focus more on that. With Franco, you can see that he knows what he’s doing when he’s writing and that some of it comes naturally as well. That doesn’t happen often.

Florida Marriage Ban

I know more than a few gay couples down in S. Beach, Wilton Manors, and Key West who will be thrilled to hear this, especially those who’ve been together for a long time and own property like straight married couples. They are calling it the most significant ruling on marriage in Florida on the marriage ban. A federal judge…just like the judge here in PA…believes the marriage ban violates the US constitution.

Unfortunately, unlike here in PA where the Governor decided NOT to appeal Judge Jones’ ruling, the judge in FL ordered a stay because of impending appeals. One lone wing nut here in PA, Theresa Santai-Gaffney, an orphans clerk in a small town who was responsible for handing out marriage licenses, did appeal Judge Jones’ ruling and she was shot down every single time with each appeal. Judge Jones never issued a stay.

In any event, it’s interesting to see how the judge in Florida compared the cases.

Hinkle wrote in his ruling: ‘When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination.

‘To paraphrase a civil rights leader from the age when interracial marriage was struck down, the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.’

You can read more here.

Kristin Chenoweth Gay Marriage

Kristin Chenoweth recently had a few interesting things to say about gay marriage and Christians. She doesn’t believe that because she’s a Christian she should have to be anti-gay marriage. And she speaks about this in a video released by the HRC.

‘Look, the bottom line is that regardless of how you were made or who you love, you should be able to get married,’ says the actress. ‘I truly believe it is that simple and I’ll keep speaking out until marriage is an equal right nationwide.’

I think she nails something very interesting, which is the fact that there’s a divide between Christians with regard to gay marriage. And the obvious fact that many gay people are, indeed, Christian.

You can read more here.

Free Gay Book

This weekend I’m offering a long, overdue sale on Allromanceebooks.com with one of my newest novels, Cage James. I’m putting it up for free on Saturday and Sunday, which I’ll post more about over the weekend. I usually find that readers see these things themselves…for the most part. But I like to give a heads up to those who don’t here on the blog.

Here’s the Allromance link…all product information about the book is there and ARe always does a good job describing everything in detail.

James Franco’s Stunt; Travolta’s Gay Denials; Matt Bomer Plays Straight; Gay Porn Stars’ Kittens

James Franco’s Stunt

I’ve posted twice on this topic and I hope this is the last time. The only reason I’m doing it again is because I found another article at Huff Po about James Franco’s recent stunt where he jokes around about his brother and Zac Efron being a gay couple. The article is basically the same as it was everywhere else, but this time the comments left by many seem to answer a lot of the questions I had about this so-called stunt.

Here’s one that’s a bit harsh:

When two supposed straight men who act like they are dating, then all of you knuckle draggers think it’s a hoot. The rest of authentic gay men and women get called names and discriminated against, legislated against, and we become the targets of your superstitious religious nonsense. Heteros never fail to disappoint.

Here’s another that nails it in a simple way:

This is passive aggressive homophobia and he needs to be called out on it instead of patted on the head.

Here’s yet another that might be hitting the target head on:

Fools- this is how they network to help their movie sales and keep people blah blah blah, no different then all the other rubbish when it comes to Hollywood!

Of course there are also a few that didn’t see anything wrong with what Franco did. I was told Franco is a “friend” of the LGBTI community and that he didn’t mean any harm…that he’s into gay social experiments, or something like that. Well, if that’s the case, I guess we’re lab rats now.

Yesterday Franco posted photos of himself with cute kittens. And so it goes…

You can read more here.

Travolta’s Gay Denials

In another story involving more Hollywood shenanigans, the pilot,  Douglas Gotterba, who allegedly had an intimate, personal relationship with John Travolta in the 80’s is now free to tell everything he knows.

In the court documents, Gotterba says the two had a ‘personal and intimate’ relationship.

The judge ruled the former pilot has the right to sue to speak openly, saying Gotterba has no duty of confidentiality to the star.

Gotterba wants to publish a book about it all. Travolta denies the allegations.

You can read more here.

Whether this is true or not isn’t important to me. What bothers me the most about it is that there’s this hidden shame attached to being gay that shouldn’t be an issue.

Matt Bomer Plays Straight

In a far more positive piece about Hollywood, the trailer for Matt Bomer’s new film is out and he’s playing a straight role. The title of the film is Space Station 76, and Patrick Wilson is actually playing a bisexual character.

Bomer, currently filming the sixth and final season of TV’s White Collar, plays the role of Ted, a mechanic married to a woman named Misty (Marisa Coughlan).

The film is set in a 1970s-version of the future and is about a group of people and robots living on a space station. They face inner turmoil when a new assistant captain (Liv Tyler) arrives and sparks tension.

This sounds interesting. You can read more here. And, see the trailer.

Maybe there’s hope for Hollywood after all.

Gay Porn Stars’ Kittens

Here’s a link to Queerty where there’s a photo section about gay porn stars and their kittens. They are actually great photos with some of the most adorable kittens I’ve seen in a long time. I think they are safe for work, too. At least I didn’t see anything offensive there.

You can check them out here.

Of course James Franco isn’t in any of the photos with his kitties, but let’s wait and see what happens. Nothing would surprise me anymore…smile.

Small Town Romance Writer
 
by Ryan Field

James Franco on Writing; Pussy Hoax; Kickstarter Helps EastSiders: Crowdfunding Is A Word

James Franco On Writing

After I read and reviewed James Franco’s novel, Actors Anonymous, I have to admit that I didn’t get all the criticism because most of the critics seemed to be judging Franco as an actor, a person of privilege, and a celebrity. They should have been critiquing the book and the content of the book; nothing else. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works and anyone who has ever written a book knows this all too well. But this article I recently found about Franco and his thoughts on MFA programs and writing really doesn’t make much sense to me either. Actually, it’s a little brutal, but without the presentation of a solid argument.

First, the author of the piece, Aleksander Chan, goes head first into a litany of insults that are just as weak as the argument he’s trying to present. (If you’re going to slam someone, at least do it with some style and have some fun.) But more important, should we take advice from Franco who is a proven success in several fields, or listen to opinions from Chan who no one’s ever heard of? I might not like Donald Trump’s politics (or his hair), but I would take financial advice from him faster than I’d take it from a nun who took a vow of poverty. You get where I’m going with this.

Chan said this:

Franco, who has attended a litany of MFA programs (including Columbia’s, from which he graduated in 2010), apparently did not learn in his years of study how to convey any insight he might have gleaned. Though the “mature” actor is quite adept at blathering on in vague, stupid generalities about grad school:

This is what Franco said:

With regard to fiction programs, the first thing to consider is that most of the students (if not on scholarship) are paying anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 a year to learn a profession that isn’t going to pay off soon, even if they do get a book deal right after school. The second thing to consider is that writing is a solitary activity, so you shouldn’t expect much collaboration with your peers. After classes, students go home and write stories so they can bring them to class to be workshopped. While workshops get criticized a lot, they do allow one’s writing to be read critically and talked about. Even if the feedback is worthless, a writer’s work changes if the writer knows that it is going to be read.

Okay. So what’s wrong with that statement from Franco? Chan seems to think it’s too mundane and he seems to want something more from Franco…you know, because Chan is from the world of entitlement and everyone owes him more.

But that’s not the way any higher educational experience works. And what Franco said is a good overall description of what you can expect. You also have to take into consideration that not everyone goes to grad school for the same reason, not everyone’s circumstance is the same, and the way in which we communicate and interpret grad school in a general sense is probably going to be unique. MFA grad programs are not like programs in the health industry where you are taught something specific. An MFA in creative writing is more of a learning experience in a general sense and it’s more about what you do with it than what you can expect it to do for you.

Actually, I think that because the nature of any MFA program is so broad as a learning experience there’s no one way to hand out useful advice that could apply to everyone. I learned that basic interpretation my freshman year in college during an orientation lecture from the president of the university.

You can read more here. As I said, it’s weak piece at best and you have to wonder how some people get paid to have a voice…assuming Chan does get paid to write and he’s not working for free like those writers at Huff Po who can’t wait to help Arianna Huffington make another million.

As always, the comment thread is amusing, especially the douchecanoe guy.

Pussy Hoax

Speaking of douchecanoes, this next link is both funny and scary at the same time. Evidently, someone decided it would be fun to make it look as if he’d high jacked a news report by breaking into a story with the comment, “Fuck her right in the pussy.” It all looks real at a glance, but it’s a huge hoax that’s trying to make us all look like fools.

A Cincinnati man, his face disguised by beard, sunglasses, and hoodie, has now wandered into at least two different local newscasts, grabbing the mic and screaming “fuck her right in the pussy.”
 
Except that he hasn’t. These videos are terrible “viral” hoaxes, and you should ignore them until they go away.
 
Mediaite spotted a slew of inconsistencies in the videos—the filming locations aren’t in Cincinnati, the reporters don’t work for the stations pictured, and one of the voiceovers is actually Megyn Kelly—and traced the videos to a guy named John Cain.
 
 
You can read more and see three videos here. I’m not sure it’s the worst Internet hoax that’s ever happened, but it’s right up there with death hoaxes and those political things we know never to trust anymore.
 
 

Kickstarter Helps EastSiders

EastSiders is a successful web series with a gay theme. I find anything like this interesting…web series, webisodes, etc…because I like to add elements of these things into my gay themed novels. In fact, I’m releasing one very soon in the Chase series where a farcical crime revolves around a webisode where a character went missing. It’s the dumbest crime in history. And the fact that Kickstarter just helped a real life gay themed web series go into a second season tells me I’m doing at least one thing right in my books.

Pledges received on the show’s Kickstarter page still were below the minimum of $125,000 needed in order to receive a single cent of the money.

But by the deadline early Monday (19 May), pledges had reached $153,169.

 ‘Thanks to you amazing people we are 100% funded and will definitely be making season 2!’ read a statement posted on the page. ‘We are so grateful to all of you for this opportunity and we are incredibly excited to keep making this show for you!’

You can read more here. I’m not familiar with EastSiders, but I’m going to make a point to watch now.

 
I also think it’s interesting to note, speaking of Kickstarter, that the word “crowdfunding” was recently added to the Merrium-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, along with Hashtag, Selfie, and Tweep. (Tweep is a person who uses Twitter.)

Joining the elite crowd of terms like “Hashtag”, “Selfie” and “Tweep” – the term “crowdfunding” has finally found the recognition it deserves in the august  publication known as the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary.  Hopefully this is final acceptance that crowdfunding no longer is two words or demands a hyphen.

More here about that. I just wish someone would tell google blogger that crowdfunding is one real word now, not two.

James Franco in New Jersey; Anne Rice, Reviews, Petition

Anne Rice, Reviews, Petition

An article written five days ago talks more about the online petition to get Amazon to make changes in its review policies, and talks more about Anne Rice and how she’s been such a large part of all this. The article begins with a comment about reading bad reviews of classic books…Lolita. I can back that up with one star reviews I once read about The Great Gatsby.

But this issue in a general sense seems to be gaining more speed and doesn’t seem to be going away.

What prompted Rice to sign the petition were her experiences in an Amazon forum this past January (although she’s been talking about the Amazon problem for some time). She was answering questions while “predatory career bullies” (screengrabbed here) spat venom and abuse, anonymously. She told the Guardian: “They’ve worked their way into the Amazon system as parasites, posting largely under pseudonyms, lecturing, bullying, seeking to discipline authors whom they see as their special prey . . .  They’re all about power. They clearly organise, use multiple identities and brag about their ability to down vote an author’s works if the author doesn’t ‘behave’ as they dictate.”


You can read more here.

James Franco in New Jersey

Had I known this I would have put on my best underwear and taken a quick ride down to Princeton. It’s less than a half hour from New Hope. James Franco is starring in and directing a new historical film, The Sound and the Fury, and he was shooting a scene not far from Princeton University.

Bundled up in a leather jacket, a thick black hat and dark sunglasses, actor James Franco stood near the Washington Road bridge today, sizing up the bridge over Carnegie Lake in Princeton where an actor had just jumped for a scene in “The Sound and the Fury,” an adaptation of William Faulkner’s 1929 novel directed by and starring Franco.

“What do you think about this for B camera? Just look at this first,” Franco said to a cameraman as he made his way around the West Windsor set on the Princeton border and fans gathered along Faculty Road, hopeful they’d get a look at the movie and the man making it happen.

You can read more here…with a photo of Franco suffering through this winter that just doesn’t want to end.

There have been a lot of films made around here in the Bucks County area and when I owned my gallery I saw customers that ranged from soap opera stars in New York to Mick Jagger. One well known actor I won’t name once asked me back to his hotel room in Lambertville and I politely declined and said I was married. Most people around here aren’t star struck and most celebrities feel free to be just like everyone else. But had I known about Franco I might have been tempted to take my iPad down there and have him sign a bookplate on the back for his novel, Actors Anonymous.

In any event, this was the only day Franco will be here, so I guess I missed my one shot in life to be a fangirl. Franco did, however, make the day of a few young women in Princeton.

“It’s so random that he’s here, but I’m a fan and he’s welcome here any time,” Byrne said. “We’re just some girls in love.”