Top Gear: Alabama Rednecks

OK, so I may be a year behind the times, but just how bad are the rednecks in Alabama?!

Last night, BBC Three aired the episode where Jeremy and the gang went to the US and encountered a spot of bother with some of the locals.

Yes, the guys definitely provoked it, but even still… what happened was rather shocking in my opinion. The only time I’ve genuinely been at the edge of my seat due to the tension; especially when he needed the jump leads!

It’s somewhat shocking that a slogan that (albeit jokingly) promotes ‘man-love’ (ugh at phrasing) can seemingly have the whole town turn against you in such a quick manner.

I love how the garage owner calls it a ‘hick town’, as if she’s above it herself.

Here’s a good  summary – skip to 3 minutes for the high tension action:

No To Hate!

I just wanted to give mention to the No To Hate vigil that happened in Trafalgar Square, London on 30th October 2009.

Unfortunately, I had to get home on Friday evening, though as I was late home from work, I only missed this by about an hour (I often pass through Trafalgar Square). On reflection, I really wish I’d stayed.

The vigil was largely prompted as a response to the death of Ian Baynham, recently murdered in the Square for simply being gay. It has also been used to respond to the reports of rising numbers of hate-crimes against the gay community and also to highlight of the case of a young gay chap in Liverpool who was brutally set upon by a gang of up to 20 youths a few days ago; showing this is not just a problem local to London.

The Londonist have ran a marvellous article (with some stunning pictures). I’d strongly recommend my blog readers have a read of it.

The sheer number of names read out after the silence seemed never ending, and was, without doubt, far, far too many.

I have been very lucky to have never really experienced serious homophobic abuse, despite what we’re told are drastically rising numbers of instances.

I have read articles in Attitude magazine, and similar, which also reckon that hate crimes will rise due to the effects of global warming (essentially, when things start to go wrong, and at times of social pressure, minority groups suffer badly). A somewhat sobering thought, and the first time I’ve really (and seriously) thought about the effects of global warming (though I have always tried to be green myself!).

Without wanting to get too party political about this, why were there no Conservative politicians in attendance at the vigil (apart from the Deputy London Mayor)? I see a long list of Labour figures and supporters reported in the media, but nobody from any other party seemed to have turned up…

I think that the overwhelming majority of people in this country all share the same fundamental values, and understand that even if we don’t agree with someone elses way of living and think it wrong, that tolerance must be still exercised.

I think that those remaining few people who cross the line of tolerance and are clearly so full of unsubstantiated rage, unable to show any sense of self-restraint, without shadow of a doubt deserve no less than life in prison, and their assets liquidated and donated to the further the efforts against the ‘phobia’ or ‘ism’ that they have breached. It’d never happen, but I wish it would.

NO TO HATE!

Geocities – My First Web Page

Just kidding....

Heavens above!

With all the social media attention going to Geocities at the moment (it closes today after nearly 15 years – strange to think it was a pioneer back in 1995), I thought I’d have a root around and try and see if I could find my old account. I honestly wasn’t expecting to be able to.

Surprises of surprises though, I did, and I was fairly ’shocked’! I was a completely different person back then – looking back at it now, I am cringing something rotten!

The picture seems to have gone (thankfully!), but the basic text content remains the same (along with the horrible advert bar at the side). My site was last edited in 2003 (six years ago), and would have been created around that same time, so I would have been 16/17. I don’t think this was my first attempt, but it is definitely the attempt I seem to have decided to settle with. It makes you wonder how bad the other attempts were!

As with most people, Geocities was my first attempt at building a website, and to be honest, I thoroughly sucked!

That said, I am VERY pleased that I had a flash of inspiration to look and see if my old account was still on there, as it was a completely unexpected reminder of how I used to be, and just how much I have grown up since then! It’s like one of those letters written to your future self, in a  weird way.

Oh, and straightacting.com is now an application on Facebook apparently… my, how times have changed! If I bothered using apps on Facebook, I am dead cert I wouldn’t get a ten these days (and certainly wouldn’t wave it around like a badge of honour heh!!). Europride at Manchester? Gosh!

What, you want to see it? Have I not stalled you long enough? Oh goodness, go on then…

Oh, and xkcd.com have a marvellous Geocities themed webpage in honour of the closing of the Geocities site… it looks fabulous! (have a look today – 26 Oct 2009 – though… I don’t want to take images of sites I don’t own!)

BYE BYE GEOCITIES, U WOZ LOTZ OF FUN! *WAVES*

[I wish there was a midi of the funeral march that I could upload here!]

Manchester Pride Parade 2009 : Video Pictures

So, I have FINALLY gotten around to sharing my Manchester Pride pictures!

I spent so long working on videos for them on several different platforms when I got back, I completely forgot to share them… then got sick of the sight of them, and now have remembered to post heh. I may post some of the originals up too at some point as they’re of high image quality – hurrah.

Loved the parade this year; enjoy!

(P.S. The animoto player takes a little while to load, please bear with it! Also, full screen is, naturally, the best way to view!)

(P.P.S. B*ll*cks… I had shared already after all!)

Manchester Pride 2009: The Parade

Blimey, I’ve been back a few weeks now and have had very little time to get my Manchester Pride 2009 pictures on my blog!

It took me a whole day to create a video file for our friends and family, and another day to sort all of the pictures out before I could do that, and so I’m starting to get pretty sick of these pictures now heh!!

I had been planning a whole package of blogs to go with my trip, but at the moment, and considering the volume of content that I have, it really would be a huge draw on my time if I were to upload it all. I doubt I’ll get around to uploading all of the vlog posts that I did unfortunately, suffice to say, Greg and I had an amazing time, and absolutely loved our little trip away!

Most of my pictures can be seen on my Facebook page, though I have created a nice little video using Animoto (v. highly recommended!) for my blog!

Enjoy, and feel free to leave me some comments on your thoughts regarding Pride or the Parade etc!

“Summer Storm” (Sommersturm) [2004]

Yesterday, I sat down to watch Summer Storm (‘Sommersturm’ in Germany where it was made), and I found it to be a marvelous little movie.

Another of the ‘gay’ movies, this film focuses on a group of Germanic folk who are part of a rowing regatta and ultimately turns into a coming out story for the lead character.

Tobi and Achim have been best friends for years. As cox and oarsman, they have helped their team win several rowing cups and are now looking forward to the important regatta in the countryside. As Achim’s relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi becomes confused and increasingly left out. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake…

Summer Storm highlights the emotional confusion of young people at the threshold of adulthood. Bolstering the film’s authenticity is the dazzling characterization of Tobi by award-winning young Robert Stadlober (Best Leading Actor at the Montreal Film Festival, 2001).

The film has it’s audio in German, and is subtitled accordingly, however don’t let that put you off watching it. I thought that it was really nice to see a foreign language ‘gay’ film and not another one just churned out of California or Vegas!

As with most films of this genre, some of it is a little OTT (e.g. a rival team being called Queerschlag…. you get the idea), however there is enough outside of that to make it a rather nice and warming film in my opinion.

I like the fact that it is set in what people may consider a typically non-gay environment – out in the woods, with a large group of people who are actively involved in a strenuous form of sporting activity. Most gay films take place in condos by the beach, or in hot sunny places, so an element of ‘real life’ really added to the experience I thought.

By the time the credits were rolling (it is around 98 mins long), I was thoroughly sold on the movie and reckon that it is potentially one of my favourites of the genre. I shall be purchasing it shortly I think – retailers still tend to have a few copies for around £7, though it is getting increasingly difficult to find.

And now, for the totty!!

(NB: all actors featured were in their early 20s when this was filmed! )

Harvey Milk receives posthumous top US award

I must say, I am VERY pleased to hear about Harvey Milk (and the other recipients) receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom over in the US, especially having just recently sat down to watch the 2008 film, Milk, and my current obsession with learning all about him. Definitely well deserved in my opinion, and just a shame that it’s taken this long!

Source

President Obama stated today that he was going to award Harvey Milk, slain San Francisco Supervisor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian honor and Milk will be the first openly gay civil rights leader to receive it.

The President named Milk and Billy Jean King, the first prominent athlete who was openly lesbian, among the 16 recipients. Some of the other recipients include Archbishop Desmond Tutu,the late Congressman Jack Kemp and U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

This decision comes just as the President is coming under heavy fire from gay-rights leaders for his lack of effort to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy of the Armed Forces and his failure to undo the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that does not allow for the recognition of same sex marriages.

Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. This made him the first openly gay public official elected in any major U.S. city. He served on the Board until his assassination a year later by former Supervisor Dan White.

The White House said in announcing the honor, “Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality.Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor. Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.

Milk (2008) – Review

OK, so I hold my hands up – when I initially posted the trailer and my thoughts on the then upcoming film, ‘Milk’, I got it completely wrong in terms of the distribution that this film would receive(!)

Nearly twelve months later, and after storming awards ceremonies across the globe, I am very pleased that this film made it to the mainstream after all.

I finally got around to watching it on DVD last night, and I thought that it was amazing. Perhaps the best bio-pic that I’ve ever sat down and watched. Many people of my age will always say it, but it really is hard to imagine that just outside of our generation, we had to fight for the simplest of rights;  for example, the right to not to be branded a pervert and banned from becoming a teacher, or even for a heterosexual to support a gay person in their job. Ludicrous. This film really did hammer the story home with a lot more  impact than reading the same story in print would have done I feel.

Perhaps being based on a real life person helped for the first, in my opinion, decent portrayal of a gay man on the silver screen. Normally we’re portrayed as psychos, old fat historical figures, or people who are damaged by life. Not Harvey Milk – he’s a man who wants to give us hope and will fight for injustice, and all without the stereotypical character flaws that are usually given to gay men in the movies. I found his characterisation to be endearing, and I finished the film wanting to know even more about him.

A strong cast and creative team (during the credits I ‘mmm’d’ my approval several times), really have helped to make this a remarkable movie and I found it truly compelling to watch. I really liked the occasional mixture of archive footage from the time being blended in with the newly recorded scenes. I think that it’s a film that I can actually take something out of, and I think that the Harvey Milk’s of the World definitely need much more recognition.

A marvellous film; if you have not yet had chance to see it, I urge you to.

As an aside, I’ve just been looking online at buying the DVD and find it a little strange to see that they give away the ending on the front cover?! What’s that about? Obviously, we all know that he was tragically gunned down and that the film isn’t going to end happily. However, the film is engineered in a way that, if you do not know the story, you start to panic when he’s on the stage at the parade, and then you calm down towards the end and ultimately get taken by surprise… so why ruin the ’surprise’, if you like, by having a picture of the shooting to ’sex-up’ the cover?! TSK!

Daniel Radcliffe – Attitude Magazine

The ever yummy Daniel Radcliffe is the cover boy on August 2009’s Attitue Magazine, hurrah!

I am only half way through the last issue (which fawns over ‘Bruno’… ugh!) and so may just abandon it and go straight to this issue!

Youth Issue is always the best in my opinion, think this may be one of the last years that I qualify as gay youth heh… I hit 24 in a few weeks, so maybe just one more after this one before I turn 25(!)

Radcliffe isn’t looking as hawt as they could have made him look in my opinion, but then again, looking at the listed interview content (and thus the promise of reading something more in depth than yet another interview purely about Harry Potter / Equus), I am not going to complain too much heh.

Marvellous!

Manchester – July 2009

I have just returned from spending two days (one night) back home in Manchester  – and am feeling much better for it!

I decided to go up on a whim as a hotel room in a Travelodge was £19 for the night, and train fare was only £5.30 each way, so for those kind of prices, I thought I’d be silly not to!

A larger photoset of my journey exists on Facebook for those who have access to it.

Although Manchester was forecast heavy rain for the duration of my stay, I am VERY relieved to report that not once did a single drop of rain hit my pretty little head heh. Most of the rain came whilst I was sleeping I think.

The only thing that I didn’t like was the amount of roadworks that are going on at the moment(!). I know a lot of it is due to the Metrolink upgrade, however Deansgate was also very messy, and I can only imagine how hard it is to get around Manchester by bike/public transport at the moment. Didn’t see too many roads in the city centre that were wholly open for business heh.

As an aside, I really liked the DVD machines at Piccadilly Station – very clever idea, especially if they can get them into smaller stations with decent footfall such as Stoke-On-Trent, where they don’t (to my knowledge) have a HMV already there etc.

When I got to Manchester, I met up with the chap who now does my old job at work and had lunch at the Soup Kitchen – they were doing a lovely lemon/lime chicken, rice and salad (all for a reasonable £4.50-ish). The hotel that I was staying at is next to our Manchester office, but even still, I wasn’t expecting to be able to see my old desk from the chuffin’ window of my room!!! heh.

I’m going to a wedding on Sunday, so went out to Next to purchase a shirt and tie, which took me ages. I can’t shop, simple as. If I go out looking for something specific, then I fail miserably to get anything. After about an hour and a half, I decided on one, and then promptly, and unexpectedly, nipped into HMV and bought 4 DVDs without question LOL!

In the evening, I met up with a fellow whom I know through twitter, Joseph, and we went for a few drinks in the Village. Fun to meet Joseph as he was one of the people who I find that I have quite a few twitter (and ‘real-life’) friends in common with, so he was like adding-in a missing link in a way. It’s a bit like Pokemon – gotta collect ‘em all heh! We stayed in Via for around 2 hours, popped into Spirit which was absolutely deserted and then finished up in Tribeca with a pitcher of Cosmopolitans – yum! Ended up with the traditional kebab on the way home, in bed for 2am and no hangover – bish-bash-bosh, job’s a good’un.

Incidentally, and speaking of twitter, I did use the service an awful lot whilst away… looking back, I think it shows just how much I was missing Greg as I was reaching out and connecting with people constantly. Didn’t know I was that high-maintenance heh!!!

Next morning I was up early to go see my family in Stretford. The Metrolink was especially efficient for once, taking only 8 minutes to cover the distance. Had to catch from St. Peter’s Square due to the engineering works. Very well managed I thought, and I liked the wit of the ’sorry for the inconvenience’ posters – made me giggle.

Unfortunately Stretford seems to have gone down hill quite a lot these days, and it has also garnered some bad national press in recent months due to a failing grammar school and a stabbing. I must say, when I lived there, it was a lovely place and is somewhere that I still hold dear, though walking through the re-branded Stretford Mall and seeing that around 80% of shops were unoccupied and had closed down when previously they’d had 100% occupancy, it did really hit something home.

Great to see my family, especially my niece and nephew who seem to shoot up tremendously between visits! I asked if we still had some of the old home videos of my sisters and I as kids and we managed to find some grainy old VHS copies (from 1992 and 1994) which I’ve taken back with me and will get onto DVD shortly for everyone! Some were slightly embarrassing, not least the one where our Mum forces my sister and I to perform ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ in our backyard heh. And they sometimes wonder why …?

After my visit, I dashed back into Manchester to meet Marc for lunch in Strada at Spinningfields. Back when I lived in Manchester (i.e. any time before I was 22 heh), Spinningfields was just being built, and, as Marc worked at the main office building that exists in Spinningfields, I really did get to see it grow around me. I must say, I am very impressed with the development now, it’s even bigger than I thought it would be! I think it needs (an unknown) something else too add to the attraction of the nightlife it wants, but not a cinema as there are already too many screens in Manchester I think.

I had a few hours to kill, so headed off to perhaps my favourite place in Manchester; the Museum of Science and Industry! A very pleasant 90 minutes was spent poking around the trains and planes and whatnot that they have there.

So all in all, I had a rather hectic, but marvellous time back home. Can’t wait until Manchester Pride in a few weeks as I’ll be in the city for five days with plenty of my London friends too (and Mister Greg!) – hurrah!!

(I love the contrast of old/new - Manchester does this very well imo).