Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: A Review Saturday, Dec 8 2007 

movies thisgaudygildedstage 6:43 pm

Yesterday PJ and I saw Sidney Lumet’s new film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei. Here’s the trailer:

BtDKYD is about two brothers who are both in dire financial straits. Hoffman’s Andy is a drug addict who’s been stealing from his corporate account in order to finance his lifestyle and habit. Hawke’s Hank is Andy’s younger, ne’er do well brother who owes three months of child support to his ex-wife. Andy figures out a way to solve all of their problems: they just need to knock off their parents’ suburban jewelry store, which he argues will be a victimless crime due to their parents’ insurance. Not surprisingly, the heist goes terribly wrong, sending the lives of all of the characters into a chaos.

Let’s start with what I like about this movie: Albert Finney, who plays the two men’s domineering father. He plays the most complex character in the movie. His role is really limited to two substantive scenes, but he’s brilliant in both. His character also has the widest emotional arc, despite the limited screen time. He’s really great in this role.

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The World of Normal Boys: A Review Tuesday, Dec 4 2007 

books thisgaudygildedstage 7:24 pm

After the Fall Quarter was finished, I looked around my study for something fun to read. I tried reading Wuthering Heights again, but, while it’s a great book, it wasn’t what I was in the mood for. I started reading A Passage to India, the only E. M. Forster I haven’t read, but that too didn’t work. I decided I wanted something gay (or maybe I should say gayer than Forster), so I rooted about in my bookshelves and piles of random books and picked up K. M. Soehnlein‘s The World of Normal Boys, a coming out story about a kid named Robin set in 1978.

I think I bought TWoNB a couple of years ago. I had been in a gay book club and had gotten tired of having to mail in the little cards telling them not to send me each month’s selection, so I decided to order a few books all at once, complete my obligatory number of purchases, and then cancel my membership. This was one of the novels that sounded interesting. Unfortunately, when I got the books in the mail, I started reading one of the other novels, which wasn’t very good. When I couldn’t get into that one, I figured all three of the books I ordered must not be any good, so I set them on a shelf and forgot about them.

So, after I picked it off the shelf again, I didn’t have very high expectations. Much to my surprise, however, I quickly fell in love with this book. Here’s how it begins:

Maybe this is the moment when his teenage years begin. An envelope arrives in the mail addressed to him from Greenlawn High School. Inside is a computer-printed schedule of classes. Robin MacKenzie. Freshman. Fall, 1978. He has been assigned to teachers, placed in a homeroom. His social security number sits in the upper right corner, emphasizing the specter of faceless authority. Someone, some system of decision making, has organized his next nine months into fifty-minute periods, and here is his notification. This is what you will learn. This is when you will eat. This is when you go home to your family at 135 Bergen Avenue. This is how you will live your life, Robin MacKenzie.

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No Country for Old Men: A Review Monday, Dec 3 2007 

books and movies thisgaudygildedstage 10:25 am

In keeping with the Texas theme of our trip, PJ and I saw the Coen Brothers’ new film, No Country for Old Men, on Thanksgiving day. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly Macdonald and is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. Here’s the trailer:

No Country for Old Men is set in Texas in 1980. The movie starts with Brolin’s character, Llewelyn Moss, accidentally stumbling across what looks like a massacre, the results of a drug deal gone wrong in the desert . Investigating the scene more closely, Llewelyn eventually finds a leather case full of money, at least a couple million dollars. When he takes the money, it sets off a violent chain of events that, despite his best efforts, he cannot control or stop.

NCfOM is a great movie, certainly one of the year’s best. Jones plays the local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell. His character grounds the film in common sense and serves as the audience’s way into the film. He also serves as the film’s narrator of sorts. This character isn’t a stretch for Jones; in fact, he’s played this kind of role several times. But he is perfect in this part and watching him is like sitting in on a master-class for actors. This film wouldn’t work if Bell came across as hokey or cocky. Jones imbues him with a fundamental sense of morality that reflects a kind of everyman’s quest to make sense of the senseless world around him.

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Eighteenth-Century Texas Wednesday, Nov 28 2007 

travel thisgaudygildedstage 12:26 pm

Last Wednesday, PJ and I were sitting in our favorite Mexican restaurant along the river walk in San Antonio, Casa Rio, looking at a publicity magazine while eating lunch. We were looking for something to do for an hour or two before having to go back to my sister’s house and hang out with our family and her in-laws.

My eye was caught by the brochure’s brief description of the Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion de Acuna, which it simply described as the oldest of the eighteenth-century Spanish missions in the San Antonio area. The magazine wasn’t very clear on how far away the mission was, but we decided to drive over and see what it was. After all, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see something from the eighteenth century in Texas!

First, we decided to pay another visit to the Alamo. We knew it was within walking distance of the restaurant, so we figured we should see it again before going back to our car. This is the pic we took of the front of the Alamo.

The Alamo

I have to admit that I’ve forgotten my Texas history. We had a whole year of it in seventh grade; I wanted to take a semester of it in high school but couldn’t fit it into my schedule. As a history major at TAMU, I wasn’t required to take Texas History, but I did take my senior seminar on the social history of the Texas frontier. I really enjoyed the class; we studied things like diaries of early settlers and how people made coffee on the frontier. If I had thought that there was a real future in it, I might have been tempted to become a Texas historian. But even then I realized that there couldn’t be that many jobs in the field.

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Cat Tuesday Tuesday, Nov 27 2007 

cats thisgaudygildedstage 9:57 am

Before I start blogging about our trip to San Antonio and Little Rock, I thought that I would catch up on some old blogging. I’ve been meaning to include more cat-related items from time to time; today seems like a good day to start that. Paisley and Marlowe are both very happy to see us after a week away. Paisley sat in my lap most of the evening purring up a storm.

In October, I found two YouTube clips about cats that I thought were fun. The first was sent to me by my friend James. It had been forwarded to him from another friend.

As anyone with cats knows, this is practically an animated documentary! I suffer much less from this than PJ does — the cats have gotten used to him getting up and feeding them in the morning. I usually don’t wake up until a couple of hours later. In our house, it’s Paisley that plays alarm clock. Her special technique is to knock things off of our night stands and chest of drawers.

The other clip is a short film. I first saw it months ago and recently came across it again.

This is just a fun little clip, which I take to be an homage to the presence of cats in some gay men’s lives. I have other clips and stories to share in the future. I might even include more pics of Paisley and Marlowe! (Maybe I should make a Paisley movie?!)

 

Home from Thanksgiving Monday, Nov 26 2007 

travel thisgaudygildedstage 8:28 pm

PJ and I made it home from our Thanksgiving travels without too much trouble. Our flight from Little Rock to Dallas was delayed by a half hour, which meant that we had to run through the airport to catch our flight to Columbus. From landing to takeoff, we were probably in Dallas for not much more than a half hour. The real miracle, however, is that our luggage also made it on the plane! So, we got home around 5 and are now spending the evening just enjoying being home.

We had a great time on our trip. I’ll blog about the main events over this week, but I thought I would quickly summarize them here. The highlight for me was our visit to two eighteenth-century San Antonio missions (in addition to the Alamo). I took lots of pictures. Next time I visit my sister, I definitely want to go back. We also saw a great movie, No Country for Old Men. I liked it so much that I immediately bought the novel and read it. I also read another great book, The World of Normal Boys. I’ll write reviews of all three of these works sometime this week.

We also met my sister’s in-laws, which was interesting. She had 12 people for Thanksgiving, 10 of which were staying at her house (everyone but PJ and me). We mostly watched football. The Arkansas-LSU and Tennessee-Kentucky games were both great (though they were both played after Thanksgiving day, of course). In Arkansas, we hung out with PJ’s parents, saw his brother and his family at dinner, and visited his grandmother a few times. The real highlight of that part of the trip was getting to have lunch with our friend Laura on Sunday as she drove through town.

Overall, it was a fun trip and was especially delightful since we now aren’t going home for Christmas. Instead, we’re staying here and having our own Christmas without all of the family obligations, etc. I’m definitely looking forward to it!

 

Gone to Texas Tuesday, Nov 20 2007 

holidays and travel thisgaudygildedstage 8:25 am

PJ and I are leaving for Texas and Arkansas in a little while. First, we’re flying to San Antonio. We’ll be having Thanksgiving with my sister. On Friday, we’ll fly to Little Rock and spend the weekend with PJ’s parents.

I’m so far behind on my blog. I’ve been meaning to start a section on cats — mine and other people’s. One of my favorite blogs, Kenneth in the (212), routinely writes about his cat. I want to do the same. In that spirit, here’s a YouTube clip of our boy, Marlowe, getting down from a tree. We’re constantly impressed by his climbing and jumping abilities.

The sad looking flower bed at the end of the clip is the result of Marlowe wallowing in the dirt. I have to get a new border for it someday — something more durable. Right now, Marlowe is engaged in a fierce territorial war with our neighbor’s cats. Our neighbor leaves out food for her cats, and Marlowe is desperate to conquer their yard and claim this food source as his own. We terribly embarrassed by his ambitions — I think he must be the reincarnation of some English imperialist. I have an assortment of other clips and pics (mostly of other people’s cats) I’ll add from time to time.

I might try to blog a little while we’re gone. I also want to write about the Asylum Street Spankers concert we went to on Saturday.

We’re off to the Columbus airport.

 

Weekend in Cleveland, Part 2 Saturday, Nov 17 2007 

food and museums and travel thisgaudygildedstage 11:09 am

Last weekend, PJ and I, as well as our friends M&L, went to Cleveland for the Conference of the Midwest Modern Language Association. I’ve already written about the first half of the weekend.

After going to the Cleveland Museum of Art, PJ and I met up with M&L and a friend of theirs from graduate school for lunch at Flannery’s Pub, where I had the corned beef sandwich, which was so tasty and succulent. I’m constantly on the lookout for a good corned beef sandwich here in Athens but haven’t found one to suit my taste yet. Often, they can end up too greasy, or the corned beef doesn’t have much of a taste. This sandwich was perfect. (Excuse me while I pause for a moment and reminisce.)

Next, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is the second time we had been to the Hall of Fame. Consequently, we didn’t want to linger quite as much over some of the first exhibits as M&L did, so we went on ahead of them. In many ways, I find this museum overwhelming. There’s just too much to see and take in. So I spend most of my time search out Tina Turner memorabilia. I have to say that she’s not nearly as well represented in the Hall of Fame as she should be. Hopefully this error will be remedied by inducting her as an individual and not just as part of Ike and Tina Turner, which is how she is currently recognized.

The special exhibit this time was on The Doors. I have to admit that I don’t know much about them. We saw Jim Morrison’s grave while we were in Paris this summer. As part of the exhibit you can watch a video of a Door’s concert. I sat there for a while to see if I could get a little of The Doors experience. I eventually came to the conclusion that one really needs to be high on something to get the full effect. Their music seems to entice one towards drugs, which would undoubtedly augment the experience. Not being high, I couldn’t quite get into them while watching the video, but I was almost tempted to buy a CD of their music in the gift shop just to give them another chance. Almost.

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What I’m Listening to: Cazwell Wednesday, Nov 14 2007 

music thisgaudygildedstage 9:41 pm

I was watching Logo earlier and saw part of the top ten music videos for the week. One of the videos was Cazwell’s “Watch My Mouth:”

Cazwell is a gay rap artist. On hs website he lists The Beastie Boys as one of his influences; I can definitely see how they have affected his music. In addition, I really like his self-conscious requeering of the aesthetic used by Eminem, but where Eminem is arguably homophobic in his music and self-representation, Cazwell certainly queers the white, urban street-tough imagery. As his website states,

His propulsive beats and tongue-twisting rhymes are carving out a new musical style, while his streetwise fashion sense and eye-popping videos serve up visual panache to match. Cazwell’s art isn’t about lifestyle with a lower case L, the type you purchase off-the-rack after reading a magazine article, but a Style of Life, one which celebrates everyday existence, from his first waking moments to the hazy, shady episodes that unfold in the wee small hours.

I’m immediately fascinated by his aesthetic, as expressed in his lyrics, videos, and fashion sense. Plus, he’s hot. He’s doing something really interesting, something that I think would work as a discussion topic in my gay lit class next quarter. We won’t be reading any recent gay literature, so maybe I’ll show them a couple of Cazwell’s videos and use them to start a conversation about twenty-first century gay male identities, politics, and sexuality.

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Weekend in Cleveland, Part 1 Tuesday, Nov 13 2007 

food and museums and travel thisgaudygildedstage 10:35 am

PJ and I spent the weekend in Cleveland. He was giving a paper at the Midwest Modern Language Association, and I tagged along for fun. Two of our friends drove up with us — one of them was also giving a paper. It was a lot of fun to get out of Athens and celebrate the end of the quarter.

PJ and I had visited Cleveland once before; he gave a paper at the same conference six years ago. At the time, he was teaching in Michigan, so meeting up in Cleveland for a weekend was a fun way to see each other. This time, we revisited the restaurants and museums that we saw six years ago. It was interesting to see what has changed and what hasn’t.

We arrived in Cleveland on Friday. Our friends were staying at a different hotel, so we dropped them off and then checked into our hotel, the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. I forgot to take a picture of the hotel while we were there, so here’s a picture from the hotel’s website. I liked the hotel. Our room was spacious and clean. The bed was comfortable, and hooking up to the Internet was easy to do. After we checked in, we logged onto the Internet to see if there was anything in particular that we wanted to do on Friday night. While looking at a page that listed bars and entertainment opportunities, I found a couple of reviews of our hotel. I thought it was funny that one of the reviews complained that the hotel had been overrun by conference participants while they stayed there. I honestly never considered that “regular people” stay the same hotels where our conferences takes place. I can’t imagine some poor sap who accidentally gets a room during the MLA! They’d be surrounded by miserable job candidates lurking about in the hallways trying not to make eye contact with anyone! As a conference hotel, the Renaissance was just fine. We had no complaints.

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