I used to dream about one day running into Angelina Jolie on the street. Upon our serendipitous meeting, she would take me in her loving, motherly embrace and whisper in my ear “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.” Then she’d walk away and everyone one of my problems would be solved.

Now, I want to do this for Jay Brannan.

For those of you who don’t know who Jay Brannan is, he’s the guy who had the Star Spangled Banner sung into his butt in the movie “Shortbus.” For those of you who haven’t seen Shortbus, log onto Netflix right now and put it at the top of your queue. Basically, the movie is about a group of strangers all in varying stages of their own person sexual development, who all meet in this sex club. Jay hooks up with this gay couple and they try to make a go of a three way relationship. I won’t spoil the ending because you are all going to rent it. It’s amazing.

There’s one scene in the movie where Jay is playing the guitar and singing a delightful song called “Soda Shop” to his two male suitors. The song caught my ear and I bought the sound track as soon as it came out. After a few months of me listening to that song on repeat whenever we were in the car, my bf threatened domestic violence if I didn’t find some more music to play. But I couldn’t think of anything that I’d rather hear than Jay’s angelic voice singing about walking home drunk and throwing up on his bedroom floor.

So, I turned to the oracle, aka the internet, and searched for musicians who shared some of the same qualities as my newest musical obsession. I praised Madonna when I found that my dear sweet Jay had released his own album, Goddamned. Immediately I logged onto iTunes and downloaded it.

It was like nectar from the God’s hearing my Jay-Jay sing about wanting to be a housewife, the problems with commercializing Jerusalem and religion and wondering if his inner turmoil is caused by thoughts of suicide or just being hungry. Like his song, Soda shop, I listened to Goddamned nonstop for months. I listened to it on the train ride to work, all day in front of my desk and every evening at dinner. And to my wonderful surprise, it wasn’t annoying my bf. He fell in love with the album and, for the first time ever, actually started singing along with the lyrics when we were in the car.

Even though all of Jay’s songs are morbidly depressing and darkly unhappy, his sweet tone and cherubic voice make everything seem okay. There’s one song in which he says the f-word like, fifteen times in one verse, but it doesn’t sound dirty, vulgar or even out of place. He has a wonderful quality of turning something so emotionally crippling into an experience that actually removes me from reality and makes me want to run out and sponsor an illiterate child in Africa. For a short time I even had to stop listening to him in the car because I would get so caught up in his music that I almost ran over several pedestrians at a cross walk.

And then it happened. Jay Brannan announced his first tour: Fat is a Feeling, Not a Shape. I looked on his website, jaybrannan.com and he was coming to Atlanta. I thanked the gay gods and instantly put the date in my calendar. The only thing: I wrote down the wrong date. You can only imagine my disappointment when I showed up at the venue only to have the bouncer tell me that I had missed the concert by one day. I went home and cried into my pillow, sad in the fact that I would never be able to hug Jay and let him know that everything was going to be okay. I spent the next few months in a depressed coma, eating my weight in bon bons every night and lamenting my concert scheduling mishap. I commented on every one of Jay’s facebook posts, spent way too much money on his web-based merchandise and even planned a trip to New York to ambush him outside his apartment, all in the hopes that I cold one day impart on him the wisdom that I had dreamed of from Angelina Jolie for so long. But nothing worked out.

But then again, there was another shining light: a new album. This one, titled “In living Cover” was a series of covers and two new songs. Naturally, I pre-ordered the album and even stayed home from work the day it was delivered so I could hear it as soon as I could. I sat in my living room and popped the cd in the stereo. The first song, Beautifully, poured out of the stereo speakers, filling the room and my heart with the warm audible sensation of Jay’s voice.

The song is a love song from a gay man to his fag hag. By the end of the second verse, I was blowing my nose, tears streaming down my face, filled with all the memories of girls that I loved, but was unable to love they way they wanted. For anyone reading this that has either had unrequited love for a gay man or emotionally, but not physically, loved a straight woman, please download this song. It will explain everything.

And once again, Jay announced a tour. Instantly, I bought my tickets, making sure I had had the right date and venue. The next several weeks dragged on until the evening of the concert. I showered several times and agonized over my outfit, confident in the fact that Jay was going to ask me to join him on stage for our hug.

I arrived super early for the concert to make sure that I got a good seat. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the only Jay Brannan stalker in Atlanta. I took my place behind all the other queens in line and tried to assert my status as alpha-fan by inserting myself into the conversations around me, correcting any mistakes my fellow fans were making about Jay’s background, his favorite restaurant , which is Red Lobster by the way, and any other tidbits of information I had picked up on the internet. But I was unable to intimidate anyone, so I had to wait my turn to get inside. Once through the door, I walked in and stood in the back of the venue, waiting for my new fictional boyfriend to come on stage. Eventually, he did, performed a show that brought tears to my eyes several times and then disappeared behind the black curtain at the back of the stage.

I stood there for a few minutes, confused as to why Jay didn’t approach me in the way he had in my dreams. I waited until everyone had left, thinking that maybe Jay wanted to have our cathartic hugging moment in private. After the room had cleared and the lights went down the bouncer asked me to leave and I slowly walked out the front door, turning back on last time to see if Jay was going to fulfill the promise that I was sure he had secretly made to me.

It wasn’t until several days later that I realized that Jay Brannan probably didn’t need me to hug him and tell him that everything was okay. He was an international singing sensation, movie star and overall hottie. Although his songs may be depressing, I doubted that his life was, as well.

Then I realized: Jay had given me a hug in the form of his songs. Like my once longing for Angelina Jolie’s embrace, his lyrics and style of music had enveloped me in a cocoon of understanding, telling me that, although life can be pretty crappy sometimes, there’s always something that can make you feel better. So, sorry Angelina, you’ve been replaced. It’s probably for the best anyway. If I had ever met her and she did give me a hug, her boobs would probably have gotten in the way.

My advice to Jay Brannan:

-Don’t change a thing about yourself. Keep producing your music and spreading the message that, even though life can suck sometime, you can still deliver it in a pretty package.

-Also, if you’re ever in Atlanta, look me up. Even though I don’t need to hug you and assure you that everything in your life is going to be okay, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends and have dinner.

My advice to everyone else:

-If you know of Jay Brannan, tell everyone you know about him. My hope is to make him so popular that he actually becomes the head of his very own religion.

- If you don’t know who Jay Brannan is, Wikipedia/google/iphone him now and buy all his music, merchandise and movies.

Take a look at my future boyfriend performing Soda Shop shirtless in his New York City apartment. Enjoy.

Note: There quite a bit of talking at the beginning. Forward to time 2:35 to hear the song.

Major crushin’ on this smart, talented, female. I didn’t love “Shortbus“– found it mostly cloying and too much in love with its idealized view of sex-as-religion/sex-as-catharis but was impressed by how much former MuchMusic VJ Sook-Yin Lee threw herself into the role of awkward, fish-out-of-water sexual experimentour.

Her directorial debut “Year of the Carnivore” first came to my attention through fellow Canadian dilletante Buck 65’s announcement that he scored the film. From reviews it sounds like she has taken part John Cameron Mitchell provacative sexuality and mixed it with a bit of coming-of-age indie-romance with vignettes from her own bisexual awakening. Exciting. Not holding my breath for a Minneapolis screening but hopefully a DVD screener rip will appear soon. Gotta love the internet.

A trailer for the film is still coming soon according to the site but Sook-Yin has done a number of short films recently that you can find online.

Check out Jay Brannan’s (fellow “Adaumbelle’s Quest” participant) new song “Go Away” on YouTube. Get ready…on Tuesday, November 17, Jay is releasing a new single, “Christmas Really Sucks” at jaybrannan.bandcamp.com.

[Note: This is a movie I've been dying to talk to folks about, but it's kind of hard to be like "Hey! You wanna come over and watch a man sing the national anthem into another man's ass? No, but really, despite the hardcore, unsimulated fucking, it's really an interesting meditation on post-9/11 New York. Doesn't that sound like fun?" So, now I guess I'll just talk to the internet.]

—–

“But you know what’s the most wonderful thing about New York? It’s where everyone comes to get fucked. It’s one of the last places where people are still willing to bend over to let in the new. And the old. New Yorkers are, uh, permeable. … Therefore, we’re sane. Consequently, we’re the target of the impermeable. And the insane.”

The first time I watched Shortbus I was taken aback by how graphic it is. Not because I’m a prude, but because it’s a film like none other I’ve ever seen. Having watched it a second and now a third time, I am able to really make myself permeable enough to absorb its intricacies (and some red wine didn’t hurt).

On a high level, I’m floored by the film’s ability to use sex in such an honest and raw way, and yet the sex is not the fulcrum on which the other plot points hinge. In most mainstream film, the (watered-down, romanticized, and most assuredly cleverly edited as to avoid nudity) sex scenes are used to illustrate a very real commitment or a pivotal moment of growth for characters or their relationships. Here, the sex, while probably the film’s most notable talking point, doesn’t carry the same narrative implications. Sophia, for example, visits the Shortbus sexual salon first solo and it’s not even a consideration within her marriage to Rob. Also, James’s time with Caleb is not the piece that drives the wedge between him and Jamie, but it’s the thing that brings them together.

That nontraditional view of sex as a narrative device manages to strip down sex to the most visceral and human elements without robbing it of its importance.

And now onto the characters (and again, this is some glasses of red wine in, so forgive me if this is not all cohesive):

Jamie/James: My boyfriend and I disagreed on whether these two are the quintessence of selfishness or the ultimate paragons of selflessness. On the one hand, Jamie is living in the past, quoting his famed soundbite from back when he was a child star; James is spending six months making a visual suicide note. However, they could also be seen as both being profoundly broken. Jamie isn’t selfish and unwilling to give up on the past as much as he’s incapable of doing so. All of his love comes from a very pure place and, as James says, he loves “so hard.” In his naivete, he’s just not able to understand what James is going through. James, meanwhile, is not selfish as much as he is actually severely damaged. He can’t see beyond himself because he is so hurt. He’s unwilling to let Jamie in because he loves him too much to subject him to the ugly he’s going through. His inability to be permeable is physically manifested in his refusal to be fucked. It’s not until he can allow that to happen (courtesy Caleb) that he can let himself become permeable and accept the raw love Jamie so desperately wants to give him.

Ceth: I love thinking of Ceth as an angelic figure. When Tobias the mayor tells him, “But imagine if you grew up here, like I did. Home can be very unforgiving. It’s true. People said I didn’t do enough to help prevent the AIDS crisis, because I was in the closet. That’s not true. I did the best I could. I was… I was scared. And impermeable. Everybody knew so little then. I know even less now,” Ceth is there to forgive him. And he’s there to forgive the Jamies for their crippling inability to be the men they wish to be; to help them move past their self-loathing and insecurities and get to a place where they can be a more perfect lover for their counterpart.

Severin: Her whole world being a prostitute is all about sensory experience and where does she choose to take Sophia and ultimately make the connection she’s longing for? A sensory deprivation chamber. Even when Jesse (her john) cums on the Pollack (or maybe it’s just Pollack-esque, I’m not an art history major), it’s just one more sexual mark in an entire world of chaos for her. During the climax of the film, she’s the only character not getting intimate sexually, but she’s connecting with everyone else there in a very real way. Her laugh and crash on the cymbal is one of my most favorite scenes.

Sophia: While Sophia’s storyline revolves all around her missing orgasm, I think more than the Jamies, she’s a comment on traditional relationships. Her and Rob do everything “right” from a very clinical I’m OK, You’re OK sort of view. They use “I” statements and have a post-fight sort of validation session. But it’s not until they can do something so unconventional at the Shortbus salon that Sophia can really let go and get what she needs. I also really love the sort of surrealist scene on the bench with the singular lamppost — her light needs to be turned on. Brilliant.

Post-9/11 New York: Yes, this is really a character in this film. Sure technically its screentime is mostly relegated to the gorgeous, sweeping views through the miniaturized modeled cityscape, but those breathtaking shots have a life about them that permeates every character. We first meet Severin in a hotel room with Jesse overlooking Ground Zero. He asks, “You’re taking a picture of yourself at Ground Zero: Do you smile?” That thinking lingers throughout the film. How does one (or one city) live life after the fact? How do you go on? How do you continue to make connections and feel and love and not feel guilty about it after a very real thing happens and shakes you to your very core? Can an interpersonal relationship ever even come close to affecting you in the same way? Can you ever feel again to such a degree, or will that hurt hang heavy your whole life and mock everything you feel afterward for being so small? I remember living in New York during the 2003 blackout the film alludes to. It was scary and exhilarating, because in those few hours that it lasted, I remember girding myself to get ready for the same sort of feelings that I felt on 9/11; that something awful was happening … again. However, at the same time, New York was nearly two years removed from the World Trade Center attacks and we all bore witness to the outpouring of kindness and neighborlyness that followed. We were all together this time. It’s a moment that I think the film uses with fantastic care, right down to Justin Bond’s singing the following into a megaphone to close out the film:

we all bear the scars
yeah, we all feign a laugh
we all cry in the dark
get cut off before we start

and as your last breath begins
you find your demon’s your best friend
and we all get it in
the end

So yeah, there’s my treatise on Shortbus. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts?

Shortbus foi feito por John Cameron Mitchell (2006) e não é um filme de sexo!

Neste filme, em que a personagem central é uma terapeuta sexual que nunca atingiu um orgasmo, há algo de emocionante e ousado onde são abordados alguns temas pesados mas com muita diversão à mistura. Aliás, a miscelânea de personagens em busca de aceitação é o ponto forte neste filme. Por parte de quem assiste, é também precisaouma boa dose de aceitação e open mind!

Fala-se no amor e no sexo, na forma tão real que esta relação é: divertida quando precisa de ser, com raiva algumas vezes, hesitante e insegura, forte e intensa noutras.

Há muita cena ousada, muitas passagens que nunca tinha visto em cinema; mas e o que me faz gostar deste filme? A forma divertida e real de falar de sexo sem ser algo pornográfico, tal qual ele é de verdade.

E aquela cena de abertura, wooww, prendeu-me até ao final!

Fellow “Adaumbelle’s Quest” participant Jay Brannan’s “I Suck At Life” tour is coming to Canada and back across the US…be sure to catch this talented and inspiring singer/songwriter who posses the rare quality of writing his own songs and making a cover sound as if it were his own while keeping true to the original. He’s a great performer and really knows how to connect with his fans both on stage and off…http://www.jaybrannan.com

October 14: Toronto, Canada-El Mocambo (19+)

October 15: Montreal, QC-Le Savoy du Metropolis

October 19: Nashville, TN-3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill

October 20: Atlanta, GA- Vinyl

October 21: Orlando, FL-The Social (18+)

October 22: Miami, FL-Sweat Records

October 25: Salt Lake City, UT-The Urban Lounge (21+ & early show)

October 26: Denver, CO-Larimer Lounge (21+ & early show)

October 28: Phoenix, AZ-Modified Arts

October 29: Vancouver, BC-Biltmore Cabaret (19+)

These bitches sucking cock and eating ass… then they show up at the buffet and say they’re vegan.

– Justin Bond

I am familiar with John Cameron Mitchell’s work, thoroughly enjoying his transsexual rock musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I eagerly wanted for his follow-up. Now, we have Shortbus. It’s not going to be a classic film, but a suitable one.

The focus of film is on Jaime (PJ Deboy) and James’ (Paul Dawson) relationship. They have been together for five years that are thinking about opening up their relationship. James is severely depressed. James carries around a video camera to record his life for a pet project of his that he is keeping secret from Jaime.

They go to see Dr. Sofia Lin (Sook-Yin Kim), a couple’s counselor that is having trouble achieving an orgasm from her husband, Rob (Raphael Barker). The couple tells Sofia about a sex club called “Shortbus”. Justin Bond is the mistress of the club that shows Sofia around the place.

She befriends Severin (Lindsay Beamish), a dominatrix that is looking for a meaningful relationship. They try to fix each other’s problems.

Jaime and James find a possible third partner in their relationship, Ceth (Jay Brannan). They should be happy, right? Nothing is, as it seems. There is a neighbor across the way that is obsessed with James, Caleb (Peter Stickles).

The movie tackles the topic of relationships and all that comes along with that; love, commitment, monogamy and sex. It’s infamously known that the unknown actors had un-simulated sex in the movie. I think that Mitchell wanted to have an honest portrayal of what two people is thinking, feeling, acting in a couple. You cannot shy away from sex. It’s a part of life and we should not be a afraid of it.

The core message of the film is connection in whatever configuration that might be. That tired saying, “find your bliss” can be applied here.

I understand Mitchell’s intentions with the film. I enjoyed two-thirds of this film, but the last falls off the rails into some weird shit.

Judgment: If you want to see somebody sing the national anthem into somebody’s ass, watch this film.

Rating: ***1/2

Direct Link to Media

The best part about being on the swim team is the bus ride to school. On this bus I have many hilarious interactions with team members so I decided to record one of them this time.

After the bus leaves me at school I continue recording and I talk to Aura for a bit and I think I may have recorded an argument going on next to us. Lettuce find out!

Please comment if you want to hear more episodes like this or if you want me to talk to different people. What do you think?

You can also e-mail me at:

diamondmanaphy@gmail.com

Il suo esordio sugli schermi, con l’acclamato Shortbus, lasciò tutti a bocca aperta. Per più di un motivo (e chi non ha visto il film è doveroso che scoprirà il perchè). Nel film si cimentò anche in un brano, composto da lui, e quello fu l’inizio ufficiale anche della sua carriera di cantautore.

Stiamo parlando di Jay Brannan che, a meno di un anno dalla sua esibizione precedente, torna a La Casa 139 di Milano per la gioia dei suoi fedelissimi. La sua, infatti, è una fama tutta particolare: seppure non abbia raggiunto un vero e proprio successo mainstream, può vantare un contatto speciale con fan devoti di tutto il mondo, nutrito costantemente attraverso il web: blog, myspace, facebook, youtube, twitter e chi più ne ha più ne metta. Brannan, si può dire, è diventato un vero e proprio esempio di star 2.0, aiutato anche da una bellezza e da una simpatia fuori dal comune.

Ma veniamo alla musica: il concerto è l’occasione per presentare, accompagnato dalla sua fedele chitarra, i brani dal suo nuovo album, In Living Cover (9 canzoni fra inediti e reinterpretazioni di grandi successi), fra cui la nuova The Freshman e Zombie dei Cranberries, ma anche per riproporre quelli dell’album d’esordio, Goddamned, fra cui Can’t Have It All (una delle mie preferite),  Half-Boyfriend, l’intensa title track Goddamned e Home. Non può mancare Soda Shop, dalla colonna sonora di Shortbus, così come due applauditissime soprese in italiano: Eppure Sentire (Un Senso di Te) di Elisa, interpretata – davvero bene – anche lo scorso anno e Casalinga, divertente adattamento, nella nostra lingua, del suo singolo Housewife, che strappa una valanga di applausi e parecchie risate.

Rispetto alla scorsa volta, il live si fa appena più dinamico, grazie anche all’introduzione di un paio di performance al pianoforte. Il resto dello show è talmente intimo, che vedresti Brannan a cantarti le sue piccole canzoni anche sul divano di casa. E non ti dispiacerebbe affatto. Un figlio del pop come me, non può non pensare che con una produzione diversa, più facile e accattivante, ci si potrebbe trovare fra le mani una star di prima grandezza, ma Jay, in fondo, ci piace così: nudo e solo con la sua chitarra, a cantarti le sue sofferenze a fior di pelle, figlio di un underground gay newyorkese che in lui ha trovato un degno esponente. Speriamo continui dritto per la sua strada. E che torni presto a trovarci.

NB: Un applauso anche al giovane cantautore romano Marco Guazzone, che ha aperto la serata con una performance voce e piano davvero convincente. Il suo repertorio promette davvero bene.

Website: www.jaybrannan.com ; http://www.myspace.com/marcoguazzone

“Home can be very unforgiving”

Does My Breath Smell?
Wasting Time

Download

Independent singer/songwriter, Jay Brannan is on the rise. He has self-published his own music, starred in John Cameron Mitchell’s “Shortbus” (plus he contributed a song to the film’s soundtrack), and extensively toured the US & abroad singing his heart out and connecting with fans. Jay’s first music release was the 4-song EP “Unmastered”, which debuted at #2 on iTunes Folk Albums Chart. His second release was the full length album “GODDAMNED”, which debuted at #25 on the overall iTunes album charts & featured as one of iTunes “Best New Artists of 2008″. His latest release is an album of covers + two orginal songs called “IN LIVING COVER”.  It takes a truly talented artist to take someone else’s song and make it their own while keeping true to the original, but Jay Brannan has that talent which he clearly demonstrates on “IN LIVING COVER”. With an allegence of fans, Jay knows how to captivate and connect with his audience, not only with his voice, but with his stage presence. He just finished the US leg of his “I Suck At Life” tour with the European leg kicking off in September. Be sure to catch him! For more on Jay and his music visit: http://www.jaybrannan.com.

1. Who inspired you to become a performer? i really dont know, but if i ever find out who is responsible for me pursuing a career in entertainment, i’m going to kill them.

2. Is there ever a time you thought about quitting? hell yeah, i think about it everyday!  i’ve been really lucky to get to do some incredible stuff, and i’m so grateful, but it is more work and more terrifying and more difficult (and more expensive!) than people can imagine.  i actually have “quit” before, but somehow i ended up back in it, so…i guess i’ll keep going til i decide to stop

3. Do you have any strange or unusual talent that no one knows about? i can eat 400 times my body weight in ramen noodles.

4. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve read about yourself and where did you read it? i’ve actually read a lot of crazy shit about myself, but i attached a quote from a UK magazine that’s rather amazing (read the part in black).

“If your’e going to have sex on film you want to look your best, right? That added pressure on trying to keep it up, you can’t fake that. And we’re under these bright lights and there’s people watching and it was start and stop for six hours.” -Straight boy Jay Brannan on his first gay threesome.

5. If you could dream about anyone while you sleep, who would it be? buffy the vampire slayer.

6. Favorite way to stay in shape? swimming.

7. Boxers or Briefs? briefs.

8. Favorite hobby? is having sex a hobby?

9. Favorite website? www.continental.com.

10. Superman or Wonder Woman? superman.

Because We Can: An Exploration of DIY Ethos
featuring artists Michelle Duckworth, Jonathan Hart, Shane McDermott, and Emma Self

Exhibition Opening Reception
Friday, August 7  |  6  – 9 pm

From user-generated sites like Etsy.com to huge retailers like Home Depot, the sensibility surrounds us: Why buy it when I can learn to make it myself?  DIY (abbreviated from Do It Yourself) is a broad term that encourages self-reliance in a wide range of elements from home repair to grassroots activism.  It also includes independent music, art, and film, which stemmed from the early 1970s subcultures of punk, graffiti art, and guerilla filmmaking.

The contemporary DIY attitude could be seen as a historical parallel with the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1900’s, which sought to diverge from mass-produced objects of the industrialization, and reconnect with handmade artisan styles of the past.  With the drive for profit and commercialism removed, the DIY approach democratizes the way art is both created and viewed.  It serves as the great equalizer, as sightings of DIY art become just as frequent in abandoned buildings as in major galleries and museums.

Though many DIY endeavors espouse a political, anti-consumerist message, to some the lifestyle is just about the pleasure that is gained from being self-sufficient and creating something unique.  “The DIY movement is about using anything you can get your hands on to shape your own cultural entity,” writes Amy Spencer in her book DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture.  “You can produce your own zine, record an album, publish your own book… the enduring appeal of this movement is that anyone can be an artist or creator. The point is to get involved.”

Because We Can will open with a reception on Friday, August 7 from 6 – 9pm, and will continue with events throughout the month, including an afternoon of DIY workshops with the artists on Saturday, August 8 from 1 – 3pm.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Michelle Duckworth is a fine artist and illustrator living in Memphis TN.  She graduated from the Memphis College of Art in 2006 with a BFA in Illustration and since has illustrated several children’s books with local authors.  More…
 
Jonathan Hart is a professional teaching artist, who has participated in community art projects and fine art commissions throughout the city of Memphis. He received a BFA in drawing from Memphis College of Art in 2005.

Shane McDermott graduated from MCA in 2005 with a BFA in illustration. He is an illustrator for The Commercial Appeal and has illustrated covers for local magazines, created comics for Glencoe McGraw-Hill, and teaches in the Illustration department at MCA.  More…

Emma Self is a student of textiles at the Appalachian Center for Craft, studying the traditional techniques of printing and weaving with a concentration on repeat pattern design and bookmaking.  Her thesis work unites textiles and film in installations.  More…

AUGUST CALENDAR OF EVENTS

DIY Workshops
Saturday, August 8
1 – 3 pm
The artists from the exhibit will lead informal workshops on sewing simple bags, self-publishing a comic, and book-making.  These will be drop-in activities, all materials (and a snack) will be provided.

Movies to Masticate to
Occurring on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month (except for this month, just to keep it interesting), MtMt is a free series of films focusing on avant-garde and unconventional cinema, thematically collaborating with featured artists, musicians, and cultural voices of our community. Free food is offered before the film at 7pm; films start at dark, or around 8pm.

Wednesday, August 5
John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus
This controversial film explores characters caught at the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex. [Explicit content.  Must be over 18 to attend.]  With special appearance by Justin Timberlake… in Nicki Newburger’s short from Li’l Film Fest 5 “Moanin’ @ Sundance.”

Wednesday, August 26  |  7pm
Todd Rohal’s The Guatemalan Handshake
A mysterious power outage and the disappearance of a demolition derby driver (played by Will Oldham) are just the beginning of the oddball flick.  But first, the short film “Barbie Q” by Live From Memphis co-founder and Creative Director Sarah Flemming from Li’l Film Fest 2.

Icarus Himself w/Sultana
Tuesday, August 11
Nick Whetro blends the refined distortion of his previous project National Beekeepers Society with his minimalist songwriting style and wry, quirky vocals to create the sound of Icarus Himself with the help of Karl Christenson on baritone guitar.  Local performers Sultana and Michaela Caitlin to open.  9pm/$5 cover.  Listen here.

Brightblack Morning Light
Wednesday, August 19
This New Mexico-based group, founded by Naybob Shineywater with Alabama pianist Rachael Hughes, returns to Memphis with their unique blend of rock and psychedelic music.  Their eponymous album for Matador Records in 2006 was named that among that year’s “Top 50 Albums” by Rolling Stone.  A perfect compliment to Odessa’s DIY-themed month, this band recorded their sophomore album for Matador in an adobe on a secluded mesa using only solar-powered energy.  9pm/$10 cover.  Listen here.

To be added to our mailing list, please email odessamemphis@gmail.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

ITunes Chart Climber Jay Brannan
(hier ist das Video zu sehen)

Jay Brannan, einer der meiner Meinung nach besten jungen Songwriter auf dem Markt, über seine Karriere. Angefangen hat Jay auf Youtube, später kam der Indie-Movie “Shortbus“, in dem er vor laufender Kamera Sex mit einem schwulen Pärchen hatte.

Mittlerweile hat Jay sein 2. Album veröffentlicht, und ich kann jedem Acoustic-Fan nur empfehlen, in diese Musik reinzuhören!

Ich freue mich jedenfalls schon sehr auf Jay`s Konzert am 9.9. in München!

Hani, tamamen atıyorum, bir adamla deyte çıksam, her şey mükemmel olsa filan… anında adamdan vazgeçmene sebep olacak şey ne olur deseler, cevabım hazır. Adam şu lafı ederse, ossat kendisini aday listemden çıkarırım bak, demedi demeyin. Laf ne derseniz şu:

“Bayanların küfretmesinden hoşlanmam.”

Veya hadi, listeden çıkarmasam da, o dakikadan itibaren küfür kullanmaya özen gösteririm ki, adam beni çıkarsın listesinden ya da en azından, neye bulaştığını bilsin.

Ne demek len bayanların küfretmesinden hoşlanmam?

De ki bana, küfür sevmem. eyvallah, tamam, ne diyelim. Yadırgarım biraz ama yapacak bir şey yok, bir seçim derim, nazik bir insan derim, benim kadar seviyesiz diil derim filan. Hee ama dersen ki, “küfür ben ederim de baaağyanlar etmesin” ben de sana derim ki bi siktir git.

Neden bayanlar içmez, kokmaz, bulaşmaz, terlemez, küfretmez, pespembe peri kızları olmak zorunda ki? hayır, içinde yaşadığın dünya sana küfrettiriyorsa, helllooooo, ben de ordayım. senin sinirlerin laçka da benimkiler çelikten mi, hı?

Bak mesela bir gün bir meyhaneye gittik, arkadaşlarla buluşmaya. Onlar bir grup erkek, biz de 2 kız. Meyhanede bunlar maç seyrediyolar, bi de bi grup daha var, bildigin mahallenin gençleri kıvamında. Biz girdik, oturduk, bizimkiler gülmekten ölüyo. Noluyo be dedik. Meğer biz gelmeden önce en yakası açılmadık küfürleri eden mahallenin gençleri, bizim içeri girmemizle sus pus olmuşlar, kasılmaktan ölücekler. Neyse biz de kalktık, gidelim bari dedik, giderken çocuklardan biri teşekkür etti yahu!

Bağyanların önünde küfür etmicez diye bu işkenceye razısınız demek ha? Niye yahu? Bağyanlar gerizekalı mı, küfür duyunca korkacaklar mı? Neden sürekli korunmamız, pamuklara sarılmamız gerekiyor bizim? Saygı ise mevzu, e orada bi takım tanımadığın adamlar vardı, onlara saygı nerede?

He işte tam bu noktada, hemcinslerime de kızıyorum zaten. Nedir sürekli bu pamuk prenses ayaklarımız yahu? Hayat öyle bir şey değil ki? Hayat bazen güzelse de çoğu zaman pis, çirkin, hayat göt, hayat bok, acıklı, acımasız, kahpe. Yalan mı yahu? Hangimiz masal dünyasındayız ki küfür edilince dünyamız kararıyor? Veya internette bir çıplak adam görünce ne oluyor bize, incilerimiz mi dökülüyor?

Heyhat… Dünya çifte standart dünyası.

Bak tamamen atıyorum, kadın olsun, erkek olsun kimsenin çıplak kadına bi garezi yok mesela. Aaa pardon var, “pornografik olmamak kaydıyla” diyoruz. gel gör ki mesela filmlerde kadın full frontal genelde serbest, kimse çok iplemez de, erkek olunca yooook, orda duur, filmin başka hiçir şeyinden bahsedilmez. Neden? Herhalde erkek vücudu daha pornografik bulunuyor olmalı ya da yine, kadınlar korkacak, tertemiz, kelebekli dünyaları kirlenecek diye olsa gerek. İyi de o zaman kardeşim, alın kadını, biblo diye koyun dursun, sevişip de öyle pis pis şeyler de yapmayın, allah allah yani?

Bak yine örnek vereyim, Shortbus diye bi film seyrettim, taam mı? Filmde bir kimin eli, kimin cebinde teması hakim. E tabi, pipiydi, kukuydu gırla gidiyor. Zaten açılış sahnesi bile bir adamın kendi kendine oral seks yapmayı denemesiyle başlıyor. E tabii ne oldu, 5. dakikada herkes kaçtı. Tersi olsa kaçmazdınız ama?

Ulen ne acaip iş… Bir fiş, bir priz… Dünyayı döndürüyor sittin senedir. Bu küfür mevzusundan yine nasıl buraya geldin diyeceksiniz. Gelirim çünkü küfürlerin de çoğu cinsel içerikli. Mevzu da zaten bu bence, ne olacagdı? Kadınların, tıpkı 5 yaşında bir çocuk gibi, cinselliği “leylekler getirdi” düzeyinde bilmeleri gerektiği düşünüldüğünden yani bana sorarsan.

Yani misal erkekler kadınların yanında “bok, sıçayım, sıçtığımın” gibi küfürleri nispeten daha çok sarfeder de siksoklulardan imtina eder çoğunlukla. Halbuki bana sorsan, “ağzına sıçayım” daha ağır lan, “siktir git” küfründen. Ulen düşünsene, birinde ağzın bok doluyo, daha kötü bir şey olabilir mi? Öbürü ise o kadar da kötü olmayabilir bir sürü insan için, ne de olsa sevişme eyleminden bahsediliyor, e bu da bir sürü insan için hoş bi şey, yalan mı? Gerçi bok düzeyinde bile, lafı eden bi kadın olunca, bazılarının sinirine dokunuyo: “Küfür edildi. Hem de bir bagyan küfrettiiiiii!” Oh may gad beybi.

Diyecekler ki “ama ama orospu filan demek, kadına saygısızlık!” eh yani, küfrü o kadar literel alsaydık, yukarıda da dediğim gibi, dünyanın en büyük küfrü “sıçtığım bok” olurdu ona bakarsan. Zaten ben buna çok gülüyorum, birileri ana avrat düz gidiyor, karşı taraf bana ne küfür ediyon diye değil, olaydaki saygısızlığa değil, anasına bacısına düz gidliyor diye kızıyor: “Ne anama laf ediyon laaa, böhühühühü.” Al işte yine aynı şey, yine o kadınları koruyalım kampanyası, salak saçma şövalyelik ruhu. Zaten ana avrat düz gitmenin içinde de o var, o en korunan şeye, kadına zarar verecek olma iması, o yüzden kanlarına dokunuyor bence bu küfür. Tam da bu yüzden, şahsen çok bayıldığım bir stil değil, ana avrat olayı.

Yine de küfrü bu kadar literel almamak gerek. Bu kadar alerjik olmamak gerek. Yani adam ayağını sehpaya çarpıp, sehpanın anasına sövüyosa, “hee ama kadın hakları var bikbikbik, ne diyosun sen” gerginliği de bana biraz kasıntı geliyor, ne yalan söyleyeyim. Kadın haklarından bahsedeceksek, ben “kadınlar niye ’sıçtığımın bilmenesi’ diyemeyecekmiş layyn” konusunda vermeyi tercih ederim savaşı.

Özetle, hayata, objelere ve durumlara yeri gelir küfür edersin, iyidir, hoştur, deşarj sağlar. Bir şartla tabii. Kişilere hitaben küfretmeyeceksin. Hele ki böyle fikir paylaşılan, tartışılan sosyal platformlarda filan, “ibnenin evladı, siktir git” yaklaşımı ile bir yere varmak zor. Vardığın yer ancak bir fikrinin olmadığını cümle aleme göstermek olur. Küfür edeyim derken, aptal durumuna düşen sen olursun.

Amaaaa… “Ha siktiiiir! cüzdanı evde unuttuk!” cümlesindeki “ha siktir”in keyfini de başka hiç bi şey vermez. O yüzden bırakınız kadınlar, bağyanlar da bu keyfi yaşasın yahu.

Kasmayın, kasılmayın, siktir edin.

So yesterday I spent two hours downloading uTorrents. This required more techincal saavy and patience than I own, but I wanted to see Shortbus so badly that I figured out the whole:

1. Creating a static IP

2. Working through my connection/router menus to establish the static IP

3. Mapping a dedicated port for the app

4. Blah blah blah

5. Oh, and does anyone else find the uTorrents vocab unsettling? All the swarming and seeding and leeching. Jesus. It sounds like Black Death bees. Who came up with those words? They needs to takes the happy pill. But I digress.

Holy fucking shit. Please don’t ever make me do that again. This girl used to edit and write end-user doc. Maybe this is some kind of ratted-up karma biting me in the ass. But my doc, if I do say so myself, unfolded with an unerring eye toward logical exposition. This doc was . . . er . . . lacking. A little.

Anyway. Shortbus. Yeah, I’ll buy it. I just couldn’t wait that long. Travel Buddy and I looked all over Boystown for a copy, but we figure since Jay played Schuba’s that week all the copies had been snapped up; there wasn’t one to be had anywhere. AND BTW, you WITLESS bourgeois shopkeeps, IT’S NOT PORN. Jesus. It’s art, k?

Of course I loved it. And here’s why:

1. Life affirming. Love is the answer. All love is valid and it’s the only way to connect. Sex can be the catalyst to connection – it’s not a problem, it’s an answer to a problem if you’ll let it be that.

2. Shame is a waste of time. Just stop.

3. We’re all freaks. Whether you wear yours on the inside or the outside is irrelevant.

4. Fear is the great wet blanket. Release your fear and have an orgasm. It’s good stuff.

5. The computer-generated NYC-scapes were mesmerizing to me. I’m a color whore, and my eyes were trippin on this stuff. Whoever came up with the look is fabulously talented.

6. Terrific soundtrack. Of course.

Cued up on the uTorrents now? Ummm . . .

Revolutionary Road

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Sicko

Ciao

Were the World Mine

I’ll maybe be back talking about some of those.

I downloaded this film in bit torrents and have seen it several times since then.  I don’t know if it’s a serious film.  Well, it’s comedy, but I don’t know if it’s a serious comedy film.  I want to read it as another “Sex and the City” episode but this time told through the lenses of real (read: multicultural, multi ethnic, multi sexual) New Yorkers as opposed to the somewhat unreal (read: white upper middle class women) characters of Carrie Bradshaw and her best friends.  My favorite scenes are: the one where the Chinese girl is given a tour inside Shortbus and there’s an orgy going on, the scene where the drag queen is singing while NY is down from a power blackout, and the threesome between the gay couple and this cute boy.  So I guess it’s also part porn in some ways.

The film revolves around three sets of people who all go to Shortbus – a nondescript place managed by a drag queen and hidden in the boroughs of Manhattan.  It’s home to anybody who’s queer, wants to join an orgy without discrimination, or is interested in anything – art films, poetry, and singing –  that’s somehow related to sex.  These people all have different problems and issues, and they try to deal with them while also trying to survive in NY City.  There is a gay couple trying to save their relationship.  There is also the straight couple where the female, who is Chinese and a sex therapist, has problems achieving orgasm.  And there is the quiet but intense woman who has an artistic temperament but works as a prostitute and role-plays a dominatrix character and her boring and childish customer who annoys her.  The story goes like this: the gay couple seeks counseling from the sex therapist and befriends her after she confesses to them her own sex problems.  They bring her to Shorbus where she befriends the prostitute.  She then introduces Shortbus to her husband and together they try to experiment having sex with others.  Meanwhile, one of the gays attempts suicide and is rescued by a neighborhood stalker.  Suddenly, Manhattan is struck by a power failure and becomes a dead city.  The Chinese therapist goes to a deserted park at the northern-tip most part of Manhattan and masturbates facing the sea.  When she finally reaches orgasm, electricity returns and the famous city skyline is lit once again.

Apart from the unapologetic focus on sex, I think one of the interesting ideas in Shortbus is how the tension between sex and intimacy constantly plays out in the lives of the main characters and how it almost becomes the source of all their problems and dramas.  The Chinese therapist thinks she loves her unemployed husband because he was instrumental in helping her make wise career decisions.  But the husband can’t give her a freaking orgasm.  The gay couple has wonderful sex life but somehow the other gay has problems adjusting to a rather placid domestic life and gets depressed for being scared of a committed and stable relationship, having been a hustler for most of his adult life.  He’s also very meek and this all the more prevents him from asserting himself from his partner who has a very strong personality.  He feels his partner doesn’t deserve him.  The prostitute, on the other hand, has most of the sex but treats sex as an economic exchange, so she performs as a dominatrix to earn a living.  She feels alienated by this cut-board character and feels she is more than her job.  All she really wants is to become intimate with her true self and buys a house where she can just paint.  The common thread that runs through the lives of these young individuals who are in their early 30s and are trying to survive in the jungles of Manahattan is their dilemma in wrestling the often fractious and unstable relationships between work, relationships, and sex, as if these are all that ever means to them in life.  Perhaps this is so, and perhaps there’s something about the city that produces this kind of modern problems for these young individuals.  Because of this, the city becomes another main character in the movie, as it provides the environment and the forces that produce, and eventually remedy, these problems.  

Shortbus – and other places/groups with the same queer element – necessarily provides for the much needed community-as-therapy, if you will, for these individuals lost in the alienating city.  If there’s one thing the film is able to achieve, it’s able to give us an idea why places and things like these exist beyond what our otherwise initial – often judgmental – impression would make of them.

The week started off nice with the end to Amazing Race on Sunday night.  I was rooting for Margie and Luke till the end, but sadly they came in third.  It was still nice to see them finish in the top three.

It was not a good ending to Brothers and Sister, which had it’s season finale right after.  It was extremely uneventful and I have a feeling this show will be canceled very soon.  They just keep pushing the characters around in the same old scenarios and nothing really exciting is happening.  Ken Olin needs to light some thirty something into this show and do it quick!

Big Bang Theory had its season finale on Monday night.  Still loving this little sitcom and hope to see it continue!

On Tuesday, I was finally able to snap photos of Scabby the Robin when I came home from work.  This is a sad little robin that seems to live on our property.  He can’t fly very high.  He’s so ugly, he’s cute.  I always feel sad for him, but he holds his own with other birds in the yard.

We skipped American Idol on Tuesday because Netflix delivered Underworld 3, which was released  that day.  Great film as part of the trilogy, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two.

On Wednesday, there was more good news.  Stealing Wishes had received another 4 star review on Amazon by reader Cheryl Anne Gardner.  Cheryl writes for an indie author site called PodPeep that I frequently visit.  You can read her full review there.

On Thursday, I said good-bye to J that morning.  He was off to work, and leaving after work to drive to Springfield, MO for his aunt’s wedding on Saturday.  I was unable to go due to scheduling conflicts at work.  So, I have the house to myself this weekend.  And outside of dinner with a friend on Friday night, I plan to spend the majority of the weekend writing.

Thursday night I watched Survivor.  I’ve grown so tired of this show and don’t pay much attention to it, but was glad to see Coach go.  I never liked him.  Hell’s Kitchen also ended on Thursday with Danny as the winner, who I never would have plugged from the beginning to be the last man standing.  Oh well….that means both Survivor and Idol will be coming to an end and my favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance, will be starting…next week in fact!

I also rented The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this week.  J refused to watch a Brad Pitt movie outside of maybe Interview with a Vampire.  I like Cate Blanchett though and enjoy a good supernatural tale, so we’ll see how it goes.  A friend also suggested I see Shortbus.  It should arrive today.  I love Netflix.

And that’s my week end review this week!

30. Assisti ao filme “Shortbus”, na Galeria Olido, por 1 real.

A grana estava especialmente curta e o benzão tinha feito o “favor” de levar meu cartão de transporte consigo, daí que eu não poderia ir pra muito longe caso resolvesse sair da toca. Fuçando no Guia da Folha vi sobre alguns filmes que estavam sendo exibidos no Olido, escolhi um deles ao acaso, sem pesquisar antes sobre o que se tratava (pra não estragar minha própria surpresa) e lá vai a intrépida.

Cine Olido era um lugar onde minha mãe ia, no tempo em que ir ao cinema era um programa muito chique e as pessoas finas não saíam de casa sem seus chapéus. Aliás, acho que é dela que herdei esse gosto pela Sétima Arte… mesmo muito pobre ela jamais deixou a telona de lado, quando mocinha, ainda que isso lhe custasse algumas horas-extras nas fábricas do Bom Retiro. Segundo ela o Olido era um verdadeiro luxo, tinha apresentações de piano antes das sessões e se o filme era muito longo, havia um intervalo no meio (para trocar os rolos, talvez?) e aquele mesmo “bling-blong” de teatro avisando o reinício da sessão. A entrada simulava uma rua, com postes, calçamento e umas janelinhas cenográficas imitando casas, enfim, coisas que eu queria ter visto mas que para isso hoje estaria com sessenta anos de idade no mínimo.

O Cine Olido acabou sendo fechado em 2001 e  como boa parte dos cinemas do Centro Velho, não sem antes ter tido uma incursão no mundo da exibição de filmes pornôs. Felizmente, em um rompante de inteligência administrativa a Secretaria da Cultura foi incumbida da reforma e revitalização do edifício que o abrigava, transformado em 2004 na excelente Galeria Olido, que meus companheiros palistanos apostólicos paulistas deveria visitar ao menos uma vez.

Como grande parte das edificações restauradas do centro, na Galeria Olido foi conservado o glamour de mármore e granito e os ares de Velho Mundo, porém ignorando solenemente seu passado elitista hoje em dia é um lugar que chama ao povo. Um grosso livreto de atividades do mês de Maio me mostrou quanta coisa legal eu perdi e porque eu deveria passar lá mais vezes daqui pra frente, e todas as atividades, se não forem gratuitas, custam um real ou dois (com direito a meia-entrada, acreditem. Meninos e meninas, onde se vai em cinema BOM, de primeira, por cinquenta centavos?). De dança de salão a telecentro, morre de tédio ali só quem tiver muita má-vontade.

Mina de ouro

Paguei feliz meu um real e sentei-me próximo à entrada de acesso, relendo “O Chefão” e espiando as pessoas ao meu redor. Como a maior parte das atividades que fiz desde que comecei esse blog, notei um público bem variado em idade e estilos. Impacientes senhores fazendo fila quando ninguém nem mencionava em se erguer das escadarias (onde eu também estava), jovens com os fones socados nos ouvidos esperando o tempo passar, gente sozinha, gente acompanhada, muitos com cara de cansados e eu ali, fantasiando como deve ter sido a inauguração, em 1957, entre um parágrafo e outro dos meus mafiosos favoritos.

Sete e vinte da noite, pudemos subir uma outra escadaria adornada por um espelho imenso que dá ao saguão do que antigamente era um cinema só, o Olido, mas que na década de 80 foi dividido em 3 salas (imaginem o tamanho disso) e nessa reforma finda em 2004 mantiveram as coisas assim. Melhor, porque mesmo sendo dividido em 3 partes as salas ainda são muito grandes. A tela é imensa, dessas que a gente não vê nos Cinemarks da vida e o som é adequado.

Sentei-me bem na frente e de propósito porque apesar de muito grande, existe um espaço considerável entre a tela, posicionada bem alta, e as primeiras fileiras. Sou míope, mas essa não é a minha justificativa maior em ter me assentado no gargarejo, até porque não é tão gargarejo assim.

À minha direita, em boa distância estavam aqueles senhores impacientes que formaram a fila primeiro que todos nós. Certamente eles são do tempo da minha mãe, porque falavam das mesmas coisas que ela: como naquele tempo era bonito, a entrada que imitava rua, um café estilo europeu das cercanias, casa de chá, os programas e os filmes de outrora. Fiquei com vontade de puxar papo com eles, mas a sessão começou pontualmente às sete e meia – e sem comerciais. Exibição em película, não era DVD.

Sobre Shortbus:

Poster do filme "Shortbus" (2006)

Com 15 minutos de filme, o pensamento que tive sobre o que colocaria no blog foi o de “xx.: assisti ao meu primeiro filme pornô em cinema“, até porque não chegaria a ser uma impressão equivocada em vista daquilo que nos é apresentado. Um cara imerso em uma banheira faz xixi ali mesmo, e filma. Depois esse mesmo cara se dobra em uma manobra de alto risco para chupar o seu Jorge, consegue, goza na própria boca e em um de seus olhos e continua filmando. E enquanto isso, na Sala de Justiça e próximo ao Ground Zero, uma dominatrix mau humorada surra seu jovem cliente e em algum outro ponto da cidade um casal faz seckso como dois coelhos, embora só um deles esteja gostando de verdade.

Não me choco com essas coisas mas achei estranhíssimo ver aquilo tudo tão grande na minha frente.

Shortbus (2006) diz respeito à história de um casal gay (namorados “na vida real”) que estuda a possibilidade de colocar um elemento extra na relação monogâmica e vai buscar a ajuda de uma bonita terapeuta sexual de casais, pessoa essa que nunca conseguiu chegar a um orgasmo na vida e que só teve um parceiro até então. O casal indica para a moça Shortbus, um inferninho novaiorquinho mistura de casa de swing, espaço cultural, comunidade hippie – “mas sem a esperança”, nas palavras do dono do lugar (o superawesome Justin Bond, interpretando a si mesmo) – e shelter dos párias em geral. Lá ela conhece, entre outras pessoas, Severin -  aquela dominatrix do começo do filme – e é a sua ambientação entre pessoas que normalmente não fariam parte da rotina diária que começa a mudar a forma como ela enxerga a vida e seu desagradável problema.

Wallpaper do filme (o site não funciona mais)

O filme contém sim, muitas cenas de seckso explícito (embora nem de longe se resuma a apenas isso) e em uma delas é impossível não gargalhar… a notória sequência onde cidadão começa a entoar o hino nacional americano com a cara enfiada no derrière de um outro, que usa o Jorge do terceiro para fazer de microfone e acompanhar a cantoria. Coisa muito singela, bem “família”. O curioso é que nada disso me pareceu ofensivo ou agressivo, ao contrário, o filme todo tem um clima de festa – muito bem consubstanciado no belíssimo final – e me manteve curiosa o tempo todo, para saber se Sophia – a terapeuta – ia de algum conseguir chegar lá ou meter o pé no marido, se o triângulo amoroso J.J.C. daria certo e se um certo voyeur acabaria matando alguém como um chichê poderia supor. A espontaneidade dos diálogos me surpreendeu, mas depois descobri daonde ela vinha: além do encorajamento ao improviso, ser ator profissional não era pré-requisito para participar do filme e os personagens foram construídos a partir da experiência individual dos selecionados.

Uma das coisas que mais gostei é que o filme não trata da sexualidade como um fardo, muito menos a homoafetividade e lições de moral anti-AIDS também não existem (e toca-se nesse assunto uma única vez, na figura de um ex-prefeito e de uma forma bastante sensível), até porque o fantasma estaduniense pós 11 de setembro era outro.

Still do filme "Shortbus".

Musicas ótimas, visual urbano e dessensibilização para temas que de fato, deveriam ser tratados com mais naturalidade compõem ao final o que eu considerei um excelente pornô com história (*) trabalho de um diretor que sinceramente, não conhecia.

Links, pra eu não precisar fingir que sou uma cinéfila sabe-tudo:

1. Review do Omelete

2. Matéria na Folha Online

3. Matéria no site da BBC (english)

4. Matéria do The New York Times (english)

Bjosmeespanquem.

(*) Não, não é um filme de sacanagem e sim um filme que contém sacanagem. Existe diferença.

Dia 30/04 acaba o Festival Sesc Melhores Filmes 2008, mas ainda dá tempo de ver muita coisa. Até quarta que vem, vai rolar debates e palestras (gratuitas) e várias sessões de cinema no CineSesc. Estas custam apenas 8 R$ (inteira), 4 R$ (meia) e 2R$ para trabalhador do comércio e serviços e matriculado. O Festival teve início em 1974 e premia os melhores filmes do ano, tanto nacionais, quanto internacionais.

CineSesc: Rua Augusta, 2075, Cerqueira Cesar

Na foto, o filme Shortbus, um dos destaques do festival.

Bom, qualquer pessoa no minimo ligada no mundo GLBTXAZY³³ já deve ter ouvido falar de Shortbus. E se você ao menos assistiu ao filme (eu indico! é muito foda!) você com toda certeza lembra do Ceth, o gostosinho / loirinho que vive um pequeno relacionamento com Jamie e Jamis.

Bom, o caso é que o ator não é só um mero atorzinho gostosinho. O nome dele é Jay Brannan, e ele também é um cantor gostosinho. Seu primeiro cd, Goodanmed, foi lançado no ano passado. Ouvi duas músicas do cd (“Can’t Have it All” e “Half Boyfriend”) e gostei bastante. Letras fofas, som calminho, perfeito pra relaxar ou curtir uma fossa.

Via:  Salada de Frutas.

posted by: audra

i have to credit sam for discovering this one…new favorite band!  film school.  amazing.  sort of i love you but i’ve chosen darkness-y.  brilliant. and what the fuck, you guys?!  we totally just missed them in portland with british sea power…for whatever reason.  perhaps it was a school night?  whatever.  there is no excuse for that.  oh, the shame…

you know what else is shameful?  they’ve been around forever!  and the ‘latest’ record?  released in 2007!  i know, right?!  catch up!  we’re so far behind, we think we’re first.

whatever.  people make mistakes.  even the perfect ones, like us.  just watch the performance below, & allow us this one.