If there's a soundtrack for the film, it will be posted as well. Most if not all links will be to Amazon.com, though some may be for TLA Video if Amazon does not carry the title.
Enjoy!
My thoughts and opinions on the world and events that affect me, my friends, and total strangers. I can get rather political, but hate that my life as a gay man living with HIV has to be political.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Gay DVD Recommendations
Every now and then I intend to suggest classic or recent DVD releases with either a gay or HIV related theme. If it has both it will be classified as an HIV film.
If there's a soundtrack for the film, it will be posted as well. Most if not all links will be to Amazon.com, though some may be for TLA Video if Amazon does not carry the title.
Enjoy!
If there's a soundtrack for the film, it will be posted as well. Most if not all links will be to Amazon.com, though some may be for TLA Video if Amazon does not carry the title.
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Art Erotica!
[caption id="attachment_228" align="aligncenter" width="512" caption="Art Erotica 2009"]
[/caption]
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Art Erotica 2010 is just around the corner. If you've never been to this most amazing of the Octopus Club fundraisers, this it the time to start. It's bigger and longer than ever before!
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First, the particulars.
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Tickets can be purchased at the door for $65, online in advance for $50, or at pre-AE Events for $45. They can also be purchased at:
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.
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The evening includes loads of erotic art, complimentary food and drinks, underwear models, live nude art, That Damn Band and more. If that alone doesn't convince you, check out these photos from Art Erotica 2009!
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.
[slideshow]
[/caption].
Art Erotica 2010 is just around the corner. If you've never been to this most amazing of the Octopus Club fundraisers, this it the time to start. It's bigger and longer than ever before!
.
First, the particulars.
Date: April 17, 2010
Time: 8:30 pm - Midnight
Where: Pine Street Station (1101 E. 5th Street) [MAP]
.
.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $65, online in advance for $50, or at pre-AE Events for $45. They can also be purchased at:
.
| TapeLenders | Book People | Tabu Lingerie |
| 114 W. 5th Street 512-472-0844 | 603 N. Lamar Blvd. 512-472-5050 | 9070 Research Blvd. 512-452-8228 |
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The evening includes loads of erotic art, complimentary food and drinks, underwear models, live nude art, That Damn Band and more. If that alone doesn't convince you, check out these photos from Art Erotica 2009!
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.
[slideshow]
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Nearly ready…
For over four years a film concept has been brewing, fermenting and growing in my mind. It no longer resembles the story I began with - and that's good. Actually, it's beyond good. As any good writer does, I listened to the voices in my head. They tore apart what I had, selected the portions they liked, then built something more wonderful.
This will be an AIDS film unlike anything before. It takes place between 1985 and 1987, when testing positive was still seen as certain death and the only hope - AZT - was financially out of reach of most people affected by AIDS. I, personally, was infected with HIV on September 13, 1986 and tested positive in March 1987.
Many of the characters in my film have a basis in real people.
"Richard" and "Keith" - the two main characters - are named for my first partner, Richard Keith Harris. I contracted HIV from him, though neither of us was aware of his status at the time. Keith passed from AIDS in February 1990. Other than the names, neither has much else in common with the man they are named for.
"Silver Flame"/"Robert" was a drag queen I'd become friends with. He died of AIDS around 1990. I've given more life to Silver than I knew of her namesake. The real Silver lip-synced. My version will sing for herself.
"Gregory" and his sister "Cynthia" is a nod to Cyndi Lauper's song "True Colors" and the reason Cyndi sings that song. Her good friend Gregory died of AIDS in the earliest days of the epidemic. Some things can't be changed, but one important thing will. A song will finally be sung to the one it was chosen for.
Shaun is in memory of my close, dear friend Shane, who passed from AIDS. Shaun's last words to Keith are the same as Shane's to me.
"Michael See" is in honor of Michael Callen, one of the first AIDS activists, a singer/songwriter, and more. With luck I can get the rights to have one of his songs performed in my film.
There are eighteen songs, all of which I can see in my mind. The minutest details of each scene plays out, from camera angles to timing of the song. Most songs are re-imagined and/or mash-ups to make them unique and to fit the film. There are a few that will be written specifically for the film.
All the music but one will be sung a cappella. Only the music for the opening credits will have instruments. The score to set the mood for the scenes will also be a cappella.
I hear it all in my head, and see each scene as it would play out. Every camera angle, every note, every laugh and every tear are all there. If I could only sell tickets to see what I see, it would make it much easier.
To be honest, I realized that my dilemma is the same as Keith's in the film. What he sees is beyond description, and the enormity of it all freezes his tongue when he tries to figure out where to begin. It's good that I can empathize with my character, even if it doesn't help me to write things out.
But, it's almost time to try.
This will be an AIDS film unlike anything before. It takes place between 1985 and 1987, when testing positive was still seen as certain death and the only hope - AZT - was financially out of reach of most people affected by AIDS. I, personally, was infected with HIV on September 13, 1986 and tested positive in March 1987.
Many of the characters in my film have a basis in real people.
"Richard" and "Keith" - the two main characters - are named for my first partner, Richard Keith Harris. I contracted HIV from him, though neither of us was aware of his status at the time. Keith passed from AIDS in February 1990. Other than the names, neither has much else in common with the man they are named for.
"Silver Flame"/"Robert" was a drag queen I'd become friends with. He died of AIDS around 1990. I've given more life to Silver than I knew of her namesake. The real Silver lip-synced. My version will sing for herself.
"Gregory" and his sister "Cynthia" is a nod to Cyndi Lauper's song "True Colors" and the reason Cyndi sings that song. Her good friend Gregory died of AIDS in the earliest days of the epidemic. Some things can't be changed, but one important thing will. A song will finally be sung to the one it was chosen for.
Shaun is in memory of my close, dear friend Shane, who passed from AIDS. Shaun's last words to Keith are the same as Shane's to me.
"Michael See" is in honor of Michael Callen, one of the first AIDS activists, a singer/songwriter, and more. With luck I can get the rights to have one of his songs performed in my film.
There are eighteen songs, all of which I can see in my mind. The minutest details of each scene plays out, from camera angles to timing of the song. Most songs are re-imagined and/or mash-ups to make them unique and to fit the film. There are a few that will be written specifically for the film.
All the music but one will be sung a cappella. Only the music for the opening credits will have instruments. The score to set the mood for the scenes will also be a cappella.
I hear it all in my head, and see each scene as it would play out. Every camera angle, every note, every laugh and every tear are all there. If I could only sell tickets to see what I see, it would make it much easier.
To be honest, I realized that my dilemma is the same as Keith's in the film. What he sees is beyond description, and the enormity of it all freezes his tongue when he tries to figure out where to begin. It's good that I can empathize with my character, even if it doesn't help me to write things out.
But, it's almost time to try.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Inspiration from a movie
“Your life is like a river. If you’re aiming for a goal that isn't your destiny, you will always be swimming against the current. Young Gandhi wants to be a stock car racer? Not gonna happen. Little Anne Frank wants to be a high school teacher? Tough Anne. That's not your destiny. But you will go on to move the hearts and minds of millions. Find out what your destiny is and the river will carry you. Sometimes events in life give an individual clues as to where their destiny lies." - Lyn Cassady, The Men Who Stare at Goats
It's not often that a move surprises you with a kernel of wisdom. At least, not often for me. The last film that did that was The Hours, when Virginia Woolf tells her husband, "You can not find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."
The quote from …Goats strikes a chord with me. The last six years I've been floundering without direction, fighting against something I didn't understand. I moved to Austin in search of something that is not here, when what I needed was always a part of my being. The clues have been there, I've seen them, acknowledged them, yet consistently I find myself turning in another direction. I wanted an easier road to follow, but it's my destiny to take Frosts' road less travelled by.
Blogging helps me find the path. It illuminates the way, guiding me toward my true destiny. I know it will be a struggle, that the journey will be hard, but the destination may prove worth the hardship and heartbreak.
My destiny is to write, to give voice to all the thoughts and ideas which fill my mind. I have to keep reminding myself to let the river carry me where I must go.
It's not often that a move surprises you with a kernel of wisdom. At least, not often for me. The last film that did that was The Hours, when Virginia Woolf tells her husband, "You can not find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."
The quote from …Goats strikes a chord with me. The last six years I've been floundering without direction, fighting against something I didn't understand. I moved to Austin in search of something that is not here, when what I needed was always a part of my being. The clues have been there, I've seen them, acknowledged them, yet consistently I find myself turning in another direction. I wanted an easier road to follow, but it's my destiny to take Frosts' road less travelled by.
Blogging helps me find the path. It illuminates the way, guiding me toward my true destiny. I know it will be a struggle, that the journey will be hard, but the destination may prove worth the hardship and heartbreak.
My destiny is to write, to give voice to all the thoughts and ideas which fill my mind. I have to keep reminding myself to let the river carry me where I must go.
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