Telling Our Stories

Tell Your Story
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

I was searching around for ideas for my last post for the year. Should I recap the year, the hardships and successes? Should I post a bunch of 5 Things about 2005? Should I snark about resolutions not kept, or more accurately not even made, in 2005?

None of it really sat right, but then I walking through Newtown yesterday afternoon and decided to take some snaps of my favourite 'story tiles' that make up part of the public art installations outside the Newtown Community Centre. Then I came across the piece of graffito above, that exhalts people to tell their story.


Story Tile 1
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

It got me thinking about this little home on the web and what it became to me during 2005. Even though I started this blog back in 2004, it really became something I relished during 2005. As I started getting more comments from you nice folk, it became a more rewarding exercise. Mostly because it was connecting us. Blogging is partly a solitary exercise. It's mostly me and the keyboard. What makes this medium come alive for me, the person driving the bus, is when you guys drop me a little line and show me a little of yourselves. If I had gone on forever not getting any comments I probably would have given up. I can't imagine writing away like the old school journals of years past without the ability to have people interact through comments.


Story Tile 2
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

If you leave me a comment, and you have a blogger profile, you can be 100% certain I will follow the link back and read your blog. Guarranteed. I've been a reader of online journals, and then blogs, for over 10 years. I can't get enough.

I don't intellectualise about it too much. Initially I wanted this blog to be about 'good' and 'serious' writing, but I'm much happier with what it has become. I like sharing things, whether I think they are dumb, funny or profound. Each time I make a post I guess I'm showing a little of myself, telling my story in tiny little idiosyncratic chapters.


Story Tile 3
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

I like the little glimpses other people's blogs give me into who they are (or who they'd like to be sometimes). I've become addicted to Flickr for the same reason, people's snapshots intrigue me and fill me with admiration, laughter and even awe sometimes.


Story Tile 4
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

So, as 2005 comes to a close I want to thank each and everyone of you for reading. Thanks to those of you who decide to leave me a comment, they are always much appreciated. A huge thanks to all those people on my sidebar who have blogs of their own, you guys entertain me, make me laugh and make me think every day. Thanks for telling your stories.

Have a wonderful New Year celebration, however you decide to mark the turning of the year. I hope 2006 turns out to be everything that you want it to be.

Andrew
x

Queer Screen 2

This post continues on from my post last week about gay films, and films with gay characters, that for one reason or another I found some value in. As I knew I would, I forgot a whole bunch of films, so here is part 2.

My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985.
This film was hugely important to me when I saw it at the tender age of 21. In the mid '80s gay characters in tv and cinema were a lot harder to find, and not frequently presented as anything other than stereotypes. A film that starred two masculine guys who happen to be gay, and in love, was quite a revelation for the time.

Grief, 1993.
Creaky production values, and an (at times) meandering script, let this film down a bit but the performances from Craig Chester, Illeana Douglas and Alexis Arquette go a long way towards saving it. Having said that, there is some great dialogue and very funny moments, but I feel like it never lived up to its full potential. Worth seeing though, just don't shell out for a full priced DVD.

Zero Patience, 1993.
Zero Patience sets out to de-demonise the French Canadian flight attendant who was incorrectly labelled 'patient zero' (ie the epidemalogical source) of the AIDS epidemic in the US & Canada, in the early days of the crisis. Subtitled 'a musical about AIDS' this film works best during the musical numbers, and many of the songs are great (I bought the soundtrack). The film does get a little pretentious at times, but overall is very enjoyable. I have a personal connection to the film because I knew Michael Callen, who makes a singing cameo as 'Miss HIV' in the film and also made a singing cameo in "Philedelphia", and sadly died of AIDS later in the same year these two films were made.

Priest, 1994.
I love this film, and can never watch it without crying bucketfulls! Linus Roache gives an amazing performance. It is made all the more powerful by the fact that at the start of the film he is not very likeable at all, and yet he transforms through the film as he faces his true nature with increasing honesty. Highly recommended, but get the tissues ready.

The Sum of Us, 1994.
I feel like it is a bit of a ring-in including this film, because I'm actually not a huge fan of it. However, I saw it twice as a play (with Jack Thompson in the same role as in the film) and adored it. Not that the film is bad, but for me it suffers in comparison to the play. It stands up well on it's own though, is worth seeing, and for me probably marked the last time I found Russell Crowe even remotely charming. The nice thing about the story is the depiction of a loving and supportive relationship between a father and his gay son.

Beautiful Thing, 1996.
A sweet, funny and tender film about coming out and finding your first love. Singlehandedly upped the sales of Body Shop's "Peppermint Foot Lotion" amongst young gay men. The lovely Scott Neal co-stars, beforehe went on to play a young copper who eventually comes out as gay on the BBC tv series "The Bill". I haven't seen this for many years, but remember it fondly.

Big Eden, 2000.
I had never even heard of this film when Mikey The Lovely Ex lent me the DVD to watch. I'm surprised this film isn't better known, because it's a gem. It's nice to see a film where gay stereotypes are challenged, and deliberately avoided for the most part. Arye Gross (from the "Ellen" tv show, "Minority Report" and a bunch of other films) and Tim DeKay ("Carnivale") both turn in excellent performances, and Eric Schweig rounds out the love triangle (of sorts) with a character who is so likeable and charming that it's possible to overlook his slightly less polished performance. Writer and director Thomas Bezucha has just written and directed a new big budget film "The Family Stone".

The Trip, 2002.
Another overlooked little gem of a film I discovered by being lent the DVD by Mikey. Part love story about two men from opposite ideologies, part bizarre road trip, and part tale of redemption and the importance of righting past wrongs, this film manages to amuse, entertain and move. Probably hard to find, but worth looking for.

Cowboys & Angels, 2003.
A lovely film about friendship, specifically the friendship between a straight man and a gay man, who initially having judged each other based on appearances then go on to find a strong common bond. The two young leads are both very likeable and funny, and also handle the dramatic moments well. Recommended.

Latter Days, 2003.
Funny and heart warming story about seduction and ultimately love, with two very appealing leads. Unfortunately the beautiful Steve Sandvoss, who plays the sexually repressed Mormon missionary, has been quoted as saying some less than flattering things about playing gay since the film aired. Hopefully he was misquoted! Worth seeing.

Eating Out, 2004.
I like this film, but I find it flawed in some areas. A huge part of the appeal is the eye candy and charm in the shape of the two leads Scott Lunsford (Caleb) and Ryan Carnes (Marc). This film has one of the hottest, and probably least politically correct, seduction scenes I have seen between two men. Oh, and a couple of full frontal nudes from the two cute boys, *cough*if you like that sort of thing*cough*. It's a low budget indie film, and sometimes it shows. Some of the performances aren't that polished, such as Jim Verraros (from American Idol apparently) who sometimes seems to trip over his dialogue a bit. It's forgiveable though because his character comes across as quite charming. I think one of the best features of Eating Out is the fact that no punches are pulled in depicting intimacy between the male characters, something that you don't often get to see in films, even gay ones. Writer/director Q. Allan Brocka has his own myspace blog.

500th Post

It has a certain sort of pleasant symmetry to it that as the year comes close to drawing to a close it's time to celebrate a milestone of sorts. 500 posts. That's close to a post a day on average, but then I started off slow back in 2004.

Thanks for reading and commenting, it means a lot to me. Hopefully you'll stick around for the next 500.

Andrew
X

Christmas 2005 Pictures

I was having trouble with the database element of my camera software so it has taken me a few days to get these pics off my camera. I didn't take a lot of pics, but I think the photos of my nephews enjoying their gifts are just priceless. They both got exactly what they wanted this year, and were very sweet about making sure my sister and her husband understood how grateful they were. They're good boys.


A Very M & M Christmas
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

My sister's family tree, with M & M decorations.


Santa Gives Good Bike
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Connor unwraps his bike helmet, with his bike (and the bikes my sister and brother-in-law gave each other) in the background.


Happiness Is A Warhammer Starter Set
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

...when you're 11. James couldn't be happier.


They Call Them "Lapdogs" For A Reason
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

My sister's Shih Tzu "Poochie" (with a Summer clip). She spent 80% of the time I was sitting on the couch, on my lap. My sister also has a beautiful big black labrador, but it's Poochie who rules the roost.

More Attachments Than A Vacuum Cleaner Factory

Yesterday was a whirlwind of shopping and desire.

My employers had given us all $200 gift vouchers from one of the big department store chains for Christmas, so yesterday I braved the post-Christmas sale crowds and the heat and went shopping. The intent was for clothes, and I didn't do too badly on that score. I was little bit stymied by the fact that my sizes were already sold out in a lot of the ranges, even though it was only the second day of the sale. Who knew there were so many munchkins in the world?

I decided to trawl the rest of the store for bargains, and so added a complete set of fab bedlinen to the mix. (I could have spent a fortune on bedlinen alone, they had some gorgeous sets at between 30-50% off.) Not bad when the whole day's shopping cost me under $300, and would normally have cost me over $500.

(I'm still trying with the whole 'Budhist non-attachment' thing, really I am. But c'mon, these were bargains!)

The menswear departments were a sea of beauties, which was both pleasant and very distracting. I swear that straight Australian men are just getting better and better in the style and grooming department. Although I do greatly applaud this, and appreciate the eye-candy, it can however wreak havoc with the gaydar. Things were so much simpler when we had hair care 'product'... and they didn't.

In the afternoon I was passing a cinema and decided to go and see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe. I absolutely loved it. The four kids turn in fantastic performances, Tilda Swinton is great, the overall design of the film (and the creatures especially) is wonderful and I found it a really satisfying experience. I was a huge fan of the book as a child, and I think they have done a really great job of translating it to the screen. C'mon, I cried for goodness sakes! That's got to be a good thing, right?

I tried to organise a night out last night, but most of my friends were either out of town still or are working this week. So I did something I rarely do, and decided to go out alone and see if I could run into anyone I know (or wanted to). Ok, I was horny, alright? I wandered down into Newtown with the intent of going to the pub, but it was dead. There was hardly anybody on the street, and only a modest crowd in the Newtown Hotel. So I took a pleasant stroll along King St instead, enjoying the warm night, and headed home for an early night. Not as satisfying as getting new sheets at 50% off, but it'll have to do.

[Updated: It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who liked the movie. Oh, and yaniboy thanks for the heads-up that the very cute boy who plays Peter is 18. Sure, I still feel like I'm a pervy old bastard, a pervy old bastard that sits alone in a cinema surrounded by shopping bags and shedding a manly tear, but it helps my mental health to know that he's not like 15 or something. Oh, and yes I agree that Mr Tumnus was also the hotness, even though you just know that he probably whiffs like wet dog or something.]

Christmas Wrap (Up)

I hope everyone had a great festive season. I had a good time, but it was also quite physically and emotionally exhausting. A string of late nights, poor sleep, and very early mornings all started to take its toll by the fourth day and it was nice to get back late last night and sleep in my own bed. Except for my two little nephews, I was the only non-smoker around for the four days, and although they tried to be considerate and none of them smoke indoors or around the kids, it was kind of hard to get away from the constant fug of cigarette smoke. Nicotine Fest 2005.

I'm trying to sort out my feelings about the trip, and it isn't easy, so this might waffle a bit.

I did have a good time, it was nice spending time with my sisters and her family. My two little nephews are now 7 and 11 years old, and are really nice kids. Funny, sweet and thoughtfull. It was lovely watching Christmas through their eyes, and also really nice to see how appreciative and gratefull they were. It was also really nice to catch up with my brother-in-law's brother and his boyfriend. Scott just turned 30 and is about to celebrate his 10 year anniversary with his partner Matt, and it was nice to see that they were both happy and well.

I had forgotten how pretty a town Ballarat is. Much of its history as a gold rush town has survived intact in the form of wonderful architecture, and even the tree-lined suburban streets are wide enough to to take a fair sized marching band. I tried to get some time to wander the city and take photos of some of the buildings, but time and family obligations made it too hard. Many of the streets are lined with wonderful timber Federation era (or earlier) timber houses with ornate iron lace balconies and verandahs.

Time spent with my sisters was both good and also difficult, pretty much as I expected it to be. My oldest sister's physical condition has deteriorated quite a bit (she suffered a major stroke about 4 years ago), and along with that she has lost much of her motivation to try and do things for herself and has become more frustrated and bitter. On the plus side (because I don't want to give the impression that it was all bad), the three of us did have some nice times times hanging out together.

Of course it's more complex than I can explain here, and I think that I should perhaps consider their privacy and not go into too much intimate detail. After a frank discussion with my sister on the way to the airport I felt a little more comfortable about my perception that I'm not physically helping as much as I could be and that the situation is rough on her. It's one of the more in depth discussions we've had on the subject, and it was nice to know that that isn't how she feels about it and that there is no resentment.

Whew, I didn't mean to get that heavy. Anyhoo, Christmas lunch was chaotic and fun. The guests included a couple of people who didn't have family to spend the day with, and in the afternoon the extended group of us played board games and watched the kids play with their new toys. Lunch kind of dribbled into dinner and became a day long eat-fest. It was a fun day. I didn't do so well in the Christmas loot department, received a few things I already had and some other things I would never buy for myself, but that wasn't important to me. It was more fun to see that everyone liked what I had bought them, and good to spend time with them.

Oh, and on the way back from the airport I was approached by a guy that lives in my neighbourhood, and who I often see around and have flirted with a bit in the past, to share a cab. We had a nice long chat and even shared a kiss goodbye at the end of the cab ride. Slightly surreal, but fun!

I hope you all had a great day!

Make the Yuletide gay.

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone. Have fun, enjoy yourselves, be nice to your loved ones, tolerant of your second cousin's wife that nobody likes, play with the kids... and have a wonderful time.

A big hug from me, with my thanks for reading and participating through the Comments over the past year. You've made me think, made me laugh, and a few times made me shed a (manly) tear. This blog keeps being a positive experience for me, and you all are the biggest part of that.

I'm off to the airport in a few hours, with packing et al as yet undone. So I'll sign off for now. Have a great yuletide. (Michael, I'll sing a special rendition of "Goy To The World" just for you.)

Back on the 27th of December. See you then!

Kisses, Andrew. XXX

Queer Screen

Some comments on one of my previous posts got me to thinking about the portrayal of gay people in movies, and in particular about the movies I have enjoyed and can relate to on a personal level.

I don't think I can understate how important it was to me when I was growing up and coming out, to see images of other gay people in film and tv. Often those images weren't exactly flattering, but I still greedily sought out anything that had a gay character in it. I guess validation is important when you are struggling to put together an identity that goes against the grain of the popular 'norm'.

I think I'll have to take a few stabs at this because I need to rack my brains for all the films I've seen over the years, but here's a start anyway of a list of films that I've seen over the years and gotten some sort of value from:

Parting Glances, 1986
An early favourite, I love this little indie film for its naturalistic portrayal of two guys in a relationship. A bit rough around the edges production-wise, and very '80s, it still remains one of my all time favourites. Notable for an early appearance of Steve Buscemi.

The Wedding Banquet, 1993
A very entertaining romantic farce by Ang Lee, I kind of fell in love with Mitchell Lichtenstein (son of painter Roy Lichtenstein) a little after seeing him in this film. Great soundtrack, which I went out and bought after seeing the film.

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, 2000
I love this film, it's so funny and has a good heart at its core. I can relate to all the characters in one way or another. One of my favourite gay films.

All Over The Guy, 2001
Richard Ruccolo co-stars in this very entertaining romantic comedy about two mismatched guys and the rocky road to romance. Great cameos by Doris Roberts, Christina Ricci, Lisa Kudrow and Andrea Martin. Appealing Dan Bucatinsky co-stars, directs and also wrote the original play.

Hedwig & The Angry Inch, 2001
What's not to love about this film? Camp, humour, pathos, great songs. Not strictly a 'gay' film, but one about people who don't fit the mould.

Sommersturm (in German, aka "Summer Storm"), 2004
A very sweet film about coming of age, coming out and exploring attraction for the first time. A bunch of teens go away for a rowing camp and competition, and encounter a team made up of gay guys, which galvanises one of the guys to explore his own attraction to guys. A young cast all turn in fantastic performances.

This is not a complete list, I'll post more as they come to mind. Care to comment on your own favourites?

Christmas Lunch 1

Christmas Lunch 1
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Emily, Matt & Tash.

Christmas Lunch 2

Christmas Lunch 2
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Mary & Goran. Even though I don't drink anymore, the thought of Goran's cold beer was pretty enticing. It was close to 100F during lunch.

Christmas Lunch 3

Christmas Lunch 3
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

The gang. Cathy (in the striped shirt) is my closest confidant in the office, and an absolute riot.

Christmas Lunch 4

Christmas Lunch 4
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

A Quickie

A busy morning of last minute work crises, and then an afternoon of eating and baking in the sun by the water at our work end of year break-up/Christmas lunch today. I'm not normally a fan of blogging about not blogging, but this is probably going to be it for today I'm afraid.

Know that it doesn't mean that I love you any less, m'kay.

'Tis The Season To Be Screeching

I'm a huge bundle of stress today. Our office is closing for the holidays from lunchtime tomorrow, when we head off for our staff Christmas lunch, and of course we are up to the eyeballs in work that needs to be done before then. The office is tense, everyone is tired, one of my bosses (the one who ended up in hospital with a stress related physical meltdown just over a week ago) is barking orders and stomping around telling us not to plan on going home anytime soon.

It's not normally this bad, but right now it's off the hook. Thank God for these little wonder tablets, otherwise I'd probably be having an aneurism right now. I've barely started my Christmas shopping, and am going to have to try and get it all done on Thursday. That should hopefully be doable.

Jolly? Hmmm, not yet. Maybe in a few days.

Other Weekend Snippets

• Those biscuits of Martha's that I mentioned I was going to make? They rocked. I decided to add some lime zest and juice to the Chewy Coconut Bars to cut the sweetness, and I had to up the flour quantity in the Lime Meltaways (but I was converting from Imperial to metric and halving the quantity, so the mistake was possibly mine) but the end results were great. Next time I'll add even more lime to the Meltaways I think, but they were still very nice. (My co-workers can vouch for that, they descended on the left-overs like a bunch of Gannets.)
  
• I was happy to find the movie The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy on the shelf at a local DVD store, it has been hard to get and listed as 'unavailable' on DVD websites for ages. I was so happy that I watched it 3 times over the weekend. (Here are some cast photos from the premiere in 2000. I heart Justin Theroux btw.)
  
• If you are in Australia and didn't watch the Christmas special episode of Spicks & Specks last night, well shame on you. I almost peed my self a bit, I was laughing so hard. I've mentioned before that I have a "thing" for the host Adam Hills, and it was only fuelled further by watching him snog Hamish Blake on the show, even if was just to get a laugh. On a sad note, gosh Belinda Emmett was looking frail.

Caarma Chameleon

Caarma Chameleon
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

A cool numberplate Bodhi and I spotted yesterday on King Street.

Breakfast Of Champions

Yesterday was a gloriously warm and sunny day in Sydney, just perfect for breakfasting and shopping. I met up with my friend Bodhi, and his daughter Ashley, for breakfast at Barmuda in Newtown. Fantastic potato & vegetable stacks, and a huge order of ricotta hotcakes with fresh berries were consumed. Afterwards we wandered King Street south and parts north until our feet gave out.


Breakfast Blingfest
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Ashley's hat and purse. Some days, the only viable option is sequins.


Born To Shop
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Like father, like daughter. At this point they were looking at movie posters, and "oohing" and "aahing" over Hayden Christiansen I think.


Ashley
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

It's a little washed out in this last pic, but the sky was a beautiful cerulean blue. It made me think of the line from a song by Roisin Murphy:

"Where the sky goes on for miles,
and never tires,
of an improbable blue."

Good times. On a day like this, why the hell would you want to be anywhere else?

Family

As I mentioned in my previous post, last night was the annual Chrissie Pissie at Speedy's house. I didn't take a lot of photos this year, some, but not any that are really blog worthy. No shots of the lush backyard this year. Speedy and her mum have just started the process of re-creating the beautiful backyard which had to be sacrificed for the building of house extensions.

It was a lovely afternoon. Despite the age differences, most of the kids are now old enough that once the initial shyness was overcome they were all able to play together. They're a nice bunch of kids, well behaved for the most part and too charming to ever get too taxing.

Surly Santa did his duty again this year and handed out the $15 Crap Presents. Once handed out we go one by one around the circle opening our gifts, so that everyone can see what you got. I got a tiny remote controlled tank this year (which I accidentaly left behind I realised this morning) which elicited a smile from Karinne when I announced "Hey, I got something that promotes agression!".

Highlight of the party, as always, was sitting with friends and talking. Catching up. I had a wonderful conversation that went long into the night about faith, morality, civility and ethics. I was especially touched by comments a few others made about family, and how this big circle of friends is a form of family, and about change and how we choose accept it. These are good people, and I'm glad I know them.

Chrissie Pissie

Later today is the Chrissie Pissie, the Christmas party hosted by my friend Louise (who goes by the handle World Peace & A Speedboat in my comments and on the group blog For Battle!). A long afternoon and evening of eating, drinking, catching up and having a good time.

An essential part of the Chrissie Pissie tradition is the buying and giving of the $15 Crap Present. All the gifts go into a box to be handed out willy nilly, so issues of taste, gender and age all go out the window when you are shopping. The rule of thumb is, cheaper, funnier and tackier the better. Surly Santa (Gordon) will hand these around, and every now and then someone will hint that a pressie would perhaps find a good home with one of the kids or whoever, but aside from that it's generally random.


Presents about to be handed out. Christmas, 2003.

I found a bunch of shots from the Chrissie Pissie in 2003 on my computer. It's fun to look back on these. Kids have grown, new kids have been born, or will be by next year (congratulations again Speedy!) and most of us have seen quite a bit of change in the past 2 years, but yet many things don't change. Friendships have, for the most part, survived those couple of years, and will do for many more.


Coz, dark angel, rocks out. Christmas, 2003.

Dspite the fact that this pic is out of focus, I love this pic of Coz rocking out with black angel wings and an inflatable guitar (both two of the more superior $15 Crap Presents). Good times.

If You Listen Closely...

If You Listen Closely...
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.