FreeThinker
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At the urging of Cole Parker, I have just read "Please Come With Me..." by Douglas, an Awesome Dude writer with awesome talent. It is a chilling, dystopian story which I won't describe because I don't want to give anything away. Suffice it to say that he writes with such skill that you feel the protagonist's fear, you experience the terror, you are in the room with him. This is a classic story that must be read by all, especially all gay people, particularly before the next election! I will spread the word of this story among all my online friends. Please read it and tell your friends to, as well.
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Very interesting and in an entertaining way.
I disagree with the idea that people are strictly one or the other. I believe sexuality is a very complicated issue with a number of "causes" or influences resulting in people falling at various points on a sexuality spectrum and that that point may move one direction or the other at various times in a person's life. I am certainly overwhelmingly homosexual, but I will confess (gasp- NO!) to having found some females interesting at times. I still couldn't do it with one, though. And, I had a young relative when I was a boy who was definitely straight, but who didn't object to messing around. We all fall at various points on the spectrum and genetics may influence where we fall, environment may do so as well, or a combination of the two (more likely) that can vary from person to person.
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LOL!!! From Laugh-in! Lily Tomlin! Very good.
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The novelist, essayist, and playwright Gore Vidal has died. Since I first secretly read Myra Breckenridge as a teenager, Gore Vidal has been one of my favorite writers. He was the son of an aviation pioneer, the stepbrother of Jackie Kennedy, a cousin of Vice-President Al Gore, and the grandson of the blind Senator Thomas V. Gore of Oklahoma, whom he often guided through the Capitol as a boy. He made history as the author of one of the first popular novels to address the issue of homosexuality, the controversial (for 1948) The City and the Pillar. Because of the controversy, he was forced to write novels in the fifties under a couple of pseudonyms. He was a script doctor on Ben Hur, the author of the award-winning play, The Best Man, and the creator of his American Chronicles, which included Burr, Lincoln, 1876, Empire, Hollywood, and The Golden Age, each of which is fascinating and impossible to put down. He had famous feuds with Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and William F. Buckley, Jr. He will be buried next to his longtime companion, Howard Austen, and not far from the great love of his life, his schoolmate from Phillips Exeter, Billy Trimble, a great athlete who died on Iwo Jima.
I have never disliked anything of his that I have read. He was a man of strong opinions with whom I did not always agree, but he was always fascinating to read and listen to. I would not have minded living Gore Vidal's life. I am sad there will be nothing new of his to read.
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That's actually only the set-up. The rest of the story is quite good. There's a reason for what happens in the first chapter and nothing like that happens in the rest of the story, at least as far as I've read. It's really quite a sweet story. I promise.
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I've already been reading this. It has a clever premise, its well executed and very fun. I agree that its worth the time.
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Oh, man! That was too cool! And, spot on.
I was ten years old when 2001 came out in the spring of 1968 and I thought it was the coolest movie ever made. I hounded my family to let me see it until my grandfather finally relented. We both loved it. Nothing like it had ever been made and the special effects for 1968 were amazing. Now I have to watch it again after that great "preview!"
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I'm a freethinker. I get nervous when I hear anyplace described as "God's Country." However, California sounds inviting, as long as it's not Orange County. Politically, my hometown isn't much different!
And, my grandfather did not build a sod house. He was an oil man who helped rape the public and cheat Native Americans out of their oil royalties. Actually, my grandfather was from Santa Cruz before the allure of money brought him to the Saudi Arabia of the twenties. Now HIS grandfather was here in the 1880's as a "Sooner," one of those who cheated in the land run and entered the open territories the night before the land run was supposed to begin. Only in Oklahoma would cheaters be revered as heroes and have a football team named after them.
Actually I want to move to the UK before I die. Failing that, I want someone to mail my ashes there and have a friend of mine spread them on Tinturn Abbey (I love Wordsworth) or maybe on the playing field of Rugby School since I had so many fantasies as a boy in the seventies after watching Tom Brown's Schooldays in 1973 on Masterpiece Theatre. What a wonderful thought, all those firm, hard adolescent bodies struggling on top of me.... Oh, dear. I think we're off topic... Actually, now I don't even remember what the topic was...
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I ask that question a thousand times a day...
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... I mean, Hell. It was 109 this afternoon and as I sit here at 9pm, it's still 103! Dear God, what kind of hell is this? How did my grandparents survive the heat waves and Dust Bowl of the thirties in this Godforsaken place before the advent of air conditioning? What kind of masochist would be insane enough to build sod houses on the plains of western Oklahoma during the land runs and actually try to farm in this hellish environment? If Dante is correct and each circle of Hell is devoted to gluttony, lust, treachery, anger, etc,. then what's Oklahoma for?
Okay. I'm through with my rant.
No, I'm not. What was Richard Rogers drinking when he wrote "Oklahoma is OK?" and where can I get some? With the humidity here, the heat index today was 115!!! I think I'll move to Phoenix to COOL OFF!
Okay. NOW I'm through.
No, wait.... Oh dear. I feel dizzy. Water! I need water!!!.............
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Dinner For One is the story that personally affected me the most of all Cole's stories. They've all moved me, but DFO moved me the most. The scene in the restaurant at the beginning, with the hateful maitre d' just broke my heart. Then, the rest of the story broke everything else, though in a good way. Cole can be a powerful writer and Dinner For One truly shows his skill. As I say, everything he writes just gets better and better, but DFO really got to me.
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I remember back in the Dark Ages, ABC used to do the Olympics back in the 60's and 70's and their coverage was in the great tradition of Roone Arledge and Wide World of Sports, not NBC's attempts to turn their coverage into episodes of Oprah. But, NBC's had a monopoly on the Olympics for so long that few people remember when ABC did it the way it was supposed to be done.
I believe there is someone at AD who is an ABC alum and may have known the great Roone Arledge!
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If I remember correctly, this was if not the first, at least one of the first of Cole's stories. I think he wrote it before he joined Awesome Dude. It is truly a beautiful story and I absolutely love it.
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I've noticed that sometimes on the news channels, when someone in New York or DC is interviewing someone by satellite there are delays of several seconds which often mess up the responses.
As for the ceremonies, incredible. How they were able to transform the stadium from bucolic England to the Industrial England and then to the NHS tribute and onward was amazing. It was so much better than the government-engineered propaganda fest in Beijing in '08. It was awe-inspiring.
I particularly enjoyed Her Majesty and Daniel Craig parachuting into the stadium. Pretty impressive for the old girl! (Yes I know it was a double). Though it was pretty cool of her to participate in the beginning of the segment. I understand that in private, she has a very wicked sense of humor. And, the signing choir who sang and signed "God Save the Queen" was wonderful.
Between the Jubilee and now The Olympics, Britain has shown the world they really know how to throw a party!
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It is surprising the film was made at that time and it is rather heroic of the producers and the studio. At the time, homosexuality was a criminal offence in the UK. In 1954, over a thousand men were in prison for engaging in private, consensual homosexual behavior. After several prominent men were convicted of the "offence," a committee led by Lord Wolfenden met to study the laws and the "offence" and concluded in a report released on September 4, 1957, (two weeks before I was born), that it should be decriminalized. It was, eventually, in I think 1966.
There was another movie made about a homosexual politician played by Dirk Bogarde, who was himself gay, that came out the year after The Man with the Green Carnation, called Victim, which produced quite a stir, as well. I also saw this on our local PBS channel a few years ago, which produced in the nineties quite a protest from the Christians in Oklahoma who hated that taxpayer money was promoting homosexuality by broadcasting this film. Sometimes progress is slow and fitful.
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In the nineties, I had two cats, Oedipus and Antigone (pronounced "an-TI-go-NEE). I had read Oedipus Rex in high school and always thought Oedipus would be great name for a cat. When a friend had kittens (his cat, not him), he offered me two and since they were brother and sister, I had to name the female Antigone, even though in the plays she was the king's daughter not sister. Anyway.... Oedipus was very aloof and loved to wander. Antigone was aloof, as well, until one day Oedipus disappeared. I was very upset and, strangely, Antigone suddenly began to develop a personality. She would get on my shoulders when I was working on my computer, or insist that I hold her on my chest with her head and front paws resting on my shoulder. She would occasionally rub her chin against mine. She was also very intelligent and would sit in front of my old answering machine, hit the button and listen to my messages. She also hated toys. I would buy her all sorts of things to play with, but they would sit on the floor unused. However, wad up a piece of paper, and she would play soccer for hours. She was a cool cat. I miss her greatly.
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Yes! I saw this movie many years ago on television and I liked it. I will have to watch it again because I don't remember enough to compare it to the Stephen Fry version from the late 90's, which I loved.
I noticed in the credits the name of Ian Fleming among the guest stars. Not THE Ian Fleming, was he? And, the producer was Albert Brocolli, of the Bond movies? How interesting.
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Terrific news! I know you are thrilled. Though I like DC, I can see how a horse farm in Mississippi might be more fun for a teenager! I am so happy for you and for Paco. You could use some stability now.
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As I watched the beginning of the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics, I was brought literally to tears by the voice of a nine year-old boy singing the hymn "Jerusalem," the lyrics of which are a poem by William Blake. It is the unofficial hymn of England and one of the most beautiful patriotic songs I have ever heard.
One of the reasons this song means so much to me, aside from my being an American of English descent, is that the hymn plays an important part in one of the most beautiful stories I believe has been posted on Nifty. Written by a friend of mine named John Teller, it is The Magic Cap, the story of two teenagers in the north of England coming of age during the nineteen-fifties. The protagonists are 17 and 14, though the story is posted in the Adult/Youth section. It is NOT an adult/youth story.
John has captured what it meant to grow up in the English class system of the fifties, in the gritty poverty and the comfortable bourgeoisie of the era. The reader is immersed in the youth culture of the period, the popular music, the sports, the rigid discipline of all-male government schools. And, it is a beautiful love story, much of which is autobiographical.
I strongly urge our members to read this wonderful love story. http://www.nifty.org.../the-magic-cap/
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Eww! That sounds dirty. I think that may be illegal in several states!
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Those diaries are priceless! I come from a long line of dog people, though I am a cat person myself. My stepfather used to say that the only men who have cats are queer. And, I wanted to ask, "And your point is?"
The best description I have heard of the differences between dogs and cats is that dogs think you're God. Cat's think they're God.
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Yeah, I don't think Liam was nearly as innocent as he makes himself out to be. The associated link to the Channel 4 news report I think is a bit more accurate about the boy's intentions. I still think he's clever.
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Perhaps we shouldn't encourage eleven year-old boys to stowaway on international flights, but I have to admit that I am rather impressed with Liam Corcoran-Fort, the boy who flew from Manchester to Rome ostensibly because he needed to pee and wasn't noticed by crew until they were in the air. I'm almost motivated to write a story about the little guy. Good on ya, Liam!
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Here is a picture of four of the original MTV VJ's back when MTV actually played music videos. Left to right, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, and Martha Quinn. Martha still looks like the sweet, goofy girl next door, but Good Lord, what happened to Nina Airhead? The Twenty-first Century has not been kind to her, (of course, a lot of us can say that!). Was 1981 really thirty-one years ago? I had the biggest crush on Alan Hunter!
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Gore Vidal
in News & Views
Posted
Tea With Mussolini is one of my all-time favorites! Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Cher, Lily Tomlin, and...oh, my God, Luca!!!!! Oh, what a beautiful young man! He's worth watching the movie for even without this stellar cast!
I don't think Gore Vidal had anything to do with this movie, though, unless we're playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.![:atthebar[1]:](https://forums.awesomedude.com/uploads/atthebar%5B1%5D.gif)