Tom and I got married on October 10th, 2008. Since we were racing to beat the clock before the election, we did a small wedding ceremony at the Van Nuys Courthouse in Los Angeles. The reception was the following day at our friend's Susan's apartment in our building.
I am waiting to get pictures from my friends of the actual ceremony. Enclosed are pictures before the wedding and then at the reception. Enjoy!
MTV has gotten around to airing the last couple episodes of Is She Really Going Out With Him? that I story produced. After the illustrious and illustrated Lady Bag and the toe-tapping Twinkle Choad came the Miami Ego Machine. He's a club owner in South Beach Miami, and boy does he love himself. Oh, and he's a wannabe stand-up comic. Yeah. MTV did not put clips up of from the show, but you can watch the entire episode here. If you like a guy who constantly eats, wears black T-shirts, and abuses his girlfriend, you will enjoy our work tearing this guy down.
Now, we saved the worst for last... Peter, the Scum Bag. I collaborated on this episode with another story producer, and trust me, the guy was too douchey for just one person to handle. This dude is suuuuuuuch a douche, we used his douchiness as a springboard for the clip show. Peter also owns a nightclub in Miami (sensing a theme here?) whose been seeing his girlfriend Carley for a while now. He goes out with his toady to look at some bling, and... well, take a gander.
With her BFF (and our production crew) in town, Carley finally hunts down Peter at his condo... with a mysterious bikini-clad girl. Peter's handles this like a perfect... asshole.
Peter is the worst; this is only a mere taste of how awful this guy is. If you see him, run, people, run! Run away!
You can see how much fun this show is, and it's also a blast to put together. It's a great group of people who do this show and it's an honor for me to be in their company. And besides, we're showing all of America the many different types of douche, scrote, and choad for everyone to avoid. It's like a public service... against Ed Hardy.
Recently, I followed my curiosity and watched the documentary Loose Change 9/11, which challenges the notion of what we think about the tragedy of September 11th. And lemme tell you... the film's kinda awful. The central thesis of the film is that there is no way a rag-tag set of terrorists with planes could take down the World Trade Center, and that a rocket of some sort flew into the Pentagon. I won't bother trying to debunk of the film 'cause plenty of other people havedoneitwaybetterthanIcould. While I completely disagreed with the filmmakers assessment of what happened on 9/11, I was also dismayed by how they put this movie together. The voiceover is slapdash and overbearing, the editing is choppy, the music is very irritating and jarring. This meandering film doesn't move well at all, and feels way longer than it's hour and a half running time.
Sitting through Loose Change 9/11 made me kinda mad because I love documentaries. I really do dig them. I like using film as a medium to explore subcultures, make points, expose elements and crimes, make us smile... and cry. The best documentaries are immensely entertaining and engrossing films. So using this as a jumping off point, here are some documentaries that, in my humble opinion, you definitely must see.
When doing agit-prop, the guys from Loose Change 9/11 can take a page from the master. This is Michael Moore's best film (with Sicko running a close second) 'cause it works as a great exploration of guns in our culture and our politics. Moore's sarcasm and analysis go hand-in-hand here, especially when exploring the culture of fear that is used to help scare us Americans into submission. A must.
An excellent film exposing closeted gay politicians who act against the LGBT community, Outrage not only explores these politicians but also the mindset as to why they would act this way. Director Kirby Dick let me down with his meandering This Film Is Not Yet Rated, but he delivered here. Big time. Spend an hour-and-a-half watching this film and you will walk away pissed, educated and yes, outraged.
David LaChappelle's exploration of krumping is a feast for the eyes and the ears. Rize goes into the history of this (relatively) recent dance movement and the people who live it and love it. You will be tapping your feet while watching it and be amazed at the level of talent.
Darkon is all about a group of LARP'ers in North Carolina. Yes, it's nerdy. Yes, it's rather arcane and a bit silly, but this is a great even-handed expose into why these people love to dress up once a month and sling fake swords around a forest preserve. And the camera work on this film is excellent.
This film exposes the world of competitive Scrabble players. Oh yes, you read that right. This is hilarious, touching and impressive. Super entertaining. No, seriously.
One of the most intense documentaries I've ever seen, Red Without Blue is about a set of identical twins from Montana who had a seemingly typical life. The movie starts with them as adults, with one of them wanting a sex change. The film then delves into their rather horrific history and how their intimate relationship as twin siblings was both a blessing and a curse. A harrowing experience and not to be missed.
On the flip side, the title of Small Town Gay Bar is a bit of a misnomer; it's about TWO small town gay bars, one in Alabama and the other in Mississippi. The film not only explores how these little bars in the middle of nowhere not only serve as a beacon and calling place for the LGBT people in those areas but also the community reaction to them. One of the most fascinating interviews is actually with Fred Phelps, founder of GodHatesFags.com (no, I'm not linking to them) whose office is not very far from one of the bars profiled. A very uplifting and honest film.
Paris is Burning is one of the first documentaries I ever remember seeing. I distinctly remember going to downtown Chicago in the summer of 1991 with some friends and seeing it at the Fine Arts Theater. If you haven't seen Paris is Burning and was wondering where both voguing and RuPaul come from, stop what you're doing and watch this already.
I can go on and on. I think from this point forward, I'll profile one documentary a month. People need to watch more documentaries; they are a great window into our ever-changing world, and if I can help shed some light on some awesome documentaries, then I would really have done some good here.
Another one of my episodes from MTV's Is She Really Going Out With Him? aired last night, and this one is a doozy. This episode deals with the Twinkle Choad, the ballroom dance instructor douche. Yes, you read that right. Frank has been seeing his girlfriend Lisa for two years. She loves Frank, and Frank loves Frank too. Oh, and dancing; Frank loves to dance. In this first clip, Frank demonstrates how important listening is to any relationship... by not listening.
Later, Frank and Lisa agree to meet up for a romantic dinner date. Lisa is on time, and Frank... Frank is quite late. Surely Frank will prove to Lisa that she's a priority... right?
Classy, huh? In order to help make amends, Frank invites Lisa and her BFF's to his dance studio for a big salsa party. When Lisa arrives, she looks through the window and sees Frank entertaining a bachelorette party... by giving and receiving a lap dance from the bride-to-be. Lisa, as you can imagine, is none too thrilled.
He's a keeper, huh ladies? As you can see, story producing this episode was tons of fun. Frank is very douchey, and the dancing aspect is a nice refreshing change from the club promoters and wannabe male models who we usually profile. Bust a move, Frank... you are a douchebag.
To anyone who says gay marriage will damage and confuse children, I turn your attention to the following:
Exactly. The fact that Tom and I have been together for so long has had this exact same effect on his nieces and nephews. We gays are just like everybody else... who would love to play some ping pong.
Culturally speaking, I've been gorging on two things lately... the Olympics and RuPaul's Drag Race. For the former, it's a pretty simple equation:
Unemployment + digital cable + Olympics = getting deeply invested in Curling.
You've never heard of curling? It's like some weird love child of skating, bocce ball, shuffle board and chess. On ice. With huge stones that you shove down... oh, here's some animation to get you started. Anyway, curling is the perfect afternoon sport to watch after you've gone to the gym in the morning, hit every job website for the hours before and after lunch, and you don't want to read any more E.M. Forster today. Watching two teams glide down the ice to knock different colored stones out of concentric circles as two commentators with thick Canadian accents (yes, that's possible) quip and ooh and ah... well, it's great. Especially when you have Canadian curler (and personal trainer AND firefighter) John Morris firing up your HD TV. Here's below on the right:
And yes, "below and on the right" is something I'd ask for him to do. Oh please, you would too...
The other portion of my brain -- okay, the gayer portion -- is currently obsessed with RuPaul's Drag Race. Hands down, it's one of the best reality shows I've ever seen. Not only is it a solid competition show (drag queens compete against each other to be the next drag superstar), it's also a great send-up of competition reality shows. Every week, there are two guest judges: one is a regular guest judge and the other is an extra-special guest judge. Of course. And on the show, RuPaul out of drag out Tim Gunn's Tim Gunn and in drag, she out Tyra's Tyra Banks (not to mention Drag Race contestant Tyra Sanchez). The most recent episode was all about game shows, where the girls played "Heel Or No Heel", and then did their best celebrity impersonations in, of course, "Snatch Game." Here's where the ladies had to fill in the blank about Slutty Sally.
Tatianna's answer about the disco stick absolutely slayed me. It's hilarious. And this is what this show has going for it. The show itself is like a drag queen: bitchy, dramatic, over-the-top, and yet believable and something you deeply care about. RuPaul's Drag Race is one of the few reality shows -- hell, TV shows -- I can watch over and over again. And with all these crazy awesome bitches, it's easy to see why.
Now, if RuPaul can get this girls in some heels and do some curling, my head might just explode.
Recent Comments