Why I’m a Democrat Reason #4 Thursday, Oct 18 2012 

politics thisgaudygildedstage 2:40 pm

Today’s reason hasn’t garnered much response on Facebook:

Reason #4 why I’m a Democrat: I have family members who have received unemployment benefits over the past couple of years. The president extended unemployment insurance–assisting 2.5 million Americans who lost their jobs in the recession. Romney thinks workers should pay for their own unemployment benefits through individual savings accounts. Romney even said it’s an “indisputable fact” that extending jobless benefits discourages people from finding work.

 

Why I’m a Democrat Reason #3 Wednesday, Oct 17 2012 

politics thisgaudygildedstage 11:56 am

Today’s Facebook post generated a lot of comments — all about abortion rights:

Reason #3 why I’m a Democrat: My friends and family have benefited from Planned Parenthood’s services, which include vasectomies, cancer screenings, HIV testing, contraception, and educational programs, which constitute 97% of Planned Parenthood’s services. President Obama supports funding these activities; Mitt Romney would end federal aid to Planned Parenthood.

It’s also been interesting that, while I don’t debate the issues with my family via Facebook, my friends and former graduate students respond to their comments wit great vehemence. It’s lovely to watch!

 

Why I’m a Democrat: Reason #2 Tuesday, Oct 16 2012 

politics thisgaudygildedstage 6:40 am

Just posted my second reason on Facebook:

Reason #2 why I’m a Democrat: I went to college and graduate school, becoming the first member of my family to earn a PhD, in part due to receiving Pell Grants and low-interest Stafford loans. Under the GOP plan, 1 million students would no longer be eligible for Pell Grants, remaining grants would be reduced, and the interest rates on Stafford loans would double, making higher education even more difficult to achieve for those of us who can’t just borrow money from our parents, as Romney recently advised poor and working class students.

Let’s see if it generates as much discussion as reason #1 did!

 

Why I’m a Democrat Monday, Oct 15 2012 

politics thisgaudygildedstage 5:16 pm

Between now and the election, I’m going to post one reason each day explaining why I’m a Democrat. I was raised in a conservative, Republican family, and my parents and sister remain conservative Republicans.

But my experience as a gay man from a (barely) working class family who is now an academic has given me a very different perspective on things than my family. Since they’re always posting Republican and Christian items on Facebook, I thought I’d start posting liberal Democratic perspectives too.

In this vein, I posted my first reason for being a Democrat this morning:

Reason #1 why I’m a Democrat: Just when Ronald Reagan tried to reclassify ketchup and relish as vegetables, I ate a healthy, free lunch every day through the National School Lunch Program. While President Obama continues to fight for this program, Gov. Romney is proposing a nearly $100 billion cut to it.

The first response was from my partner’s mother, who wrote:

Some of out here are helping to feed those kids and we know who & what kind of parents they have. Work to get their butts in the work force and not giving them free hand outs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As PJ noted, she was basically calling my parents lazy bums who were living off the government dole. Several of my friends chimed in, mostly in support of my position. Ironically, my mother and PJ’s mother ended up agreeing with one another — they think we should cut these programs because too many people just want a free hand out. It was a fascinating exchange that developed into a debate in which our friends challenged our mothers’ points of views. I hope my future reasons garner as much attention!

 

Good Boys: A Review Saturday, Aug 4 2012 

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Last night, PJ and I watched the 2005 Israeli movie Good Boys, written and directed by Yair Hochner. It stars Daniel Efrat as Menni and Yuval Raz as Tal, two prostitutes in Tel Aviv who meet and then are hired to have sex together while their John watches. They then spend the night together, and both men feel that they’ve made a special connection to one another. They agree to meet up again the next evening; the movie follows their efforts to do so.

Here’s a trailer, of sorts:

Menni is clearly the more successful prostitute: he’s cuter that Tal and he dresses better, and the sign of his success is that he has regular clients rather than works the streets. But he still has problems, not the least of which is the appearance of a female prostitute he once slept with, resulting in a child. While Menni identifies as gay and has little interest in raising his daughter, he feels some need to make sure the two of them are safe.

Tal, on the other hand, lives hand to mouth and is constantly on the lookout for easy money. He’s not as cute as Menni and therefore takes more risks with his clients. Consequently, he’s in more danger as he works the streets.

Just before they’re supposed to meet up, Menni and Tal each meet another man. Menni runs into a younger hustler who has been beaten up. He befriends him and offers him a place to stay. The two then embark on a mini-quest to return Menni’s daughter to her mother or her parents. Tal picks up a trick in the bar just when he’s supposed to be meeting Menni. The trick turns out to be bad news, and film cuts back and forth between Menni’s efforts to find his daughter’s mother and Tal and Tal’s efforts to end his “date.”

Overall, this is an interesting, provocative movie. It seems to depict prostitution rather realistically — it doesn’t romanticize these men’s lives or work. The leads are both excellent in their parts, and I think we come to care for them and whether they’re going to make it or not. The movie is only about 75 minutes long, making it a short, but well-made little movie. It’s another good example of Israeli queer cinema.

 

Harvey: A Review Sunday, Jul 8 2012 

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While in NYC last month, PJ and I saw Harvey, starring Jim Parsons and Jessica Hecht. In fact, one of the reasons we went to New York was to see this play. I remember seeing it as a kid — my parents love old black and white movies, and I was interested in seeing it on the stage. Plus, I love The Big Bang Theory, and, now that Jim Parsons is officially out, I really wanted to see him live too.

Harvey is about an eccentric man, Elwood P. Dowd, played by Parsons, who is friends with a six-foot tall invisible rabbit named Harvey. Elwood explains to various people he meets that Harvey is a pooka, a mischievous sprite who plays tricks on people.

Elwood’s sister and niece, who live with him in the family’s ancestral home, have had enough of Elwood’s behavior. Embarrassed one too many times by his introduction of his invisible friend to their acquaintances, Veta, played by Hecht, and Myrtle Mae, played by Tracee Chimo, decide to commit Elwood to the local insane asylum. When Veta takes Elwood to the asylum, however, a comedy of errors ensues as the junior, too self-assured young doctor mistakes Veta for the patient. The rest of the play involves sorting out who does and who does not belong in the hospital, with the play’s climax revolving around a new drug that can make sure Elwood never sees Harvey again.

Parsons is good in this role, but it’s not really much of a stretch for him. Elwood is a slightly differently eccentric take on Sheldon, his character on The Big Bang Theory. The part doesn’t call for anything else, so it’s clear why Parsons would be cast in the role, but it will be interesting to see if he’s able to break out of the Sheldon mold for his future forays onto Broadway and film. His supporting role in the movie version of The Normal Heart might be a good indication of his career after TBBT.

The play also features Carol Kane in a small, but hilarious role as the senior physician’s dotty wife. But the real star of this production is the set design, which is superb. Both the Dowd house and the hospital are realistically portrayed and realized. It’s clear to see why the Emmy winning designer, David Rockwell, has garnered Tony and Drama Desk nominations in recent years.

All in all, this is a good, solid production of a classic mid-twentieth century play. It’s good, family entertainment, and audience members of all ages seemed to enjoy it. I’ve decided to teach Mary Chase’s play in my class in the fall. It will be interesting to see what my students make of it!

 

Gore Vidal’s The Best Man: A Review Sunday, Jul 8 2012 

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Last month, PJ and I spent three-and-a-half days in New York City for his birthday. While there we saw three shows, the first of which was Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. I almost went to see this play when I was in the city in April, but decided to see End of the Rainbow instead. I’m glad I waited, since I think PJ enjoyed this one more than he would have enjoyed Rainbow.

The appeal of the play, at least in part, was its all-star cast, which included James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, John Larroquette, and Angela Lansbury. We couldn’t pass up a chance to see all of these actors together.

The Best Man is a political drama. Set at a major party’s presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia in 1960, the play follows the two major candidates for the nomination: William Russell, played by Larroquette, and Joseph Cantwell, played by McCormack, and their wives and political consultants. Russell is the former Secretary of State and the more progressive of the two candidates. Cantwell is a conservative senator who is an up-and-comer in the party. When Cantwell threatens to reveal damaging information about Russell to the convention goers, Russell must decide how to respond: release even more damaging information about Cantwell or try to take the high road, even if it means losing the nomination.

What stands out about this play is how timely it remains. Many of the issues it raises about politics are still true today. It asks whether winning is more important than remaining ethical and what are the consequences of playing dirty. It’s an interesting and insightful look into the political sphere.

Larroquette and McCormack are both excellent in their respective roles. Somewhat surprisingly, it was Jones who received a Tony nomination for Best Actor for his role as the former president. His isn’t really a leading role, and Jones doesn’t do anything spectacular with it — he’s just solidly good. Candice Bergen is excellent as Russell’s wife, from whom he is estranged but who is playing the part of a good wife for appearances sake. Slowly, she becomes the moral center of the play, and PJ and I both thought Bergin stood out in a quiet, but emotionally moving sort of way. And finally, Lansbury plays a small, but key role as one of the leaders of the women’s caucus of the party convention. Fancying herself as a king-maker, she plays both sides of the contest, ready to assume an influential role with whoever wins the nomination.

Overall, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man is an interesting look at politics that remains pertinent to today’s political gamesmanship. The final resolution is a bit predictable, and I thought the consequences for the Russells’ marriage was not really credible, but I liked it nevertheless. It’s been extended a couple of times, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a smart play about politics and its moral/ethical decline.

 

Visiting the Nasher Sculpture Center Monday, Mar 26 2012 

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While I was in Dallas last week for work, I visited the Nasher Sculpture Center. PJ and I had visited it a few years ago, and I’m not really all that much into sculpture, but I had time between meetings and was in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop in and see what’s on exhibit.

Most of the collection is the same as the last time we were there, but I very much enjoyed the special exhibit, the touring exhibit of Elliott Hundley’s The Bacchae. As the Nasher website describes,

Over the past decade, Hundley has developed a multifaceted, intricate art using paint, photographs, and organic and found materials ranging from bamboo, goat hooves, and pine cones to pins, magnifying lenses, and gold leaf. The mythic world of ancient Greek tragedy becomes vividly contemporary as Hundley reimagines Euripides’s last play, The Bacchae, in twelve works presented in one of the Nasher’s street-level galleries.

Here’s a picture I found online of my favorite work in this collection, Hundley’s Pentheus:

Wikipedia explains who Pentheus was in Greek mythology:

The king of Thebes, Cadmus, abdicated in favor of his grandson, Pentheus, due to his old age. Pentheus soon banned the worship of the god Dionysus, who was the son of his aunt Semele, and did not allow the women of Cadmeia to join in his rites.

An angered Dionysus caused Pentheus’ mother Agave and his aunts, Ino and Autonoë, along with all the other women of Thebes, to rush to Mount Cithaeron in a Bacchic frenzy. Because of this, Pentheus imprisoned Dionysus, but his chains fell off and the jail doors opened for him.

Dionysus then lured Pentheus out to spy on the Bacchic rites. The daughters of Cadmus saw him in a tree and thought him to be a wild animal. Pentheus was pulled down and torn limb from limb by them (as part of a ritual known as the sparagmos), causing them to be exiled from Thebes. Some say that his own mother tore off his head, and that she was the first to attack him, tearing his arm off.

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My New Barbara Cook Obsession Sunday, Mar 11 2012 

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When Barbara Cook was honored during the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this year, I didn’t know who she is — I was just watching to see the Meryl Streep tribute! I was a little bummed last night, and I thought to myself that I should reconnect with something that made me happy when I was younger. The first thing that came to mind was my youthful devotion to Broadway soundtrack albums (of course!). I started browsing on iTunes, and when I came across some Barbara Cook albums, it initiated my newest obsession.

Miss Cook is, without a doubt, a musical genius. I can’t believe I’ve gone nearly 42 years without knowing about and worshiping her! One of my favorite Broadway love songs as a kid was from The Music Man: “Til There Was You.” Imagine my joy when I learned that Cook originated the role of Marion the Librarian! Here’s her version of the song:

She won a Tony award for her performance in this show.

My newest favorite Broadway song is “Losing My Mind” from Follies. Cook has a great version of this too!

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My Favorite Movies of 2011 Sunday, Feb 26 2012 

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In honor of the Oscars tonight, I thought I would finally sit down and do my annual ten favorite movies list. As usual, these aren’t necessarily the best movies of the year. They’re the ones I enjoyed most.

Many of the movies on my list are anchored by a strong central performance. In a couple of cases, that’s what I love most about the film. Others are great stories. At least one is an artistic work that I don’t understand but really loved anyway!

Number one on my list is The Iron Lady.

I know that practically no one besides me loved this film, but I honestly think it’s not being given a fair shake. Meryl Streep’s performance is a masterpiece — one of her best ever — but I also liked the script, direction, makeup, sets, etc. The secret, it seems to me, is not to think of it as a Margaret Thatcher bio-pic. You have to think about it as a study of power, memory, and loss. Of all the movies I saw this year, it’s the one I most look forward to owning on DVD.

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