Got the Munchies?

SEVENTEEN! The Musical

A Brand New Nightmare (on Elm Street)

Well, I'm a fan of the series. For nostalgic value, they're iconic. The series' mythology is hilarious plot-heavy, actually; the connecting threads between the original film and its sequels are lovingly preposterous. And I love them. The effects work is often replay-worthy. The heroes and heroines had more personality than the cannon-fodder in most other slasher franchises, and the sheer fact that the deaths involved dreams allowed for hallucinatory visuals and concepts that allowed for more imagination and creativity than the 'stalk-and-hack-and slash- the-victim' formula of say the Friday the 13th or Halloween film series', and their legion of cheap imitations (or "rip-offs").

Freddy had personality, he wasn't a faceless killer. Nor a silent one (ugh, from part 4 on it was Wisecrack Central. The humour of the first 3 was replaced by early MTV-generation pandering to the audience). Freddy was played in every film by Robert Englund.

Campy joke-filled, effects-driven, teen-oriented horror films about children fighting against a killer in their dreams, in a world filled with adults who won't believe them, the very adults responsible for Freddy's reign at the box office...I mean reign of terror.

The remake. Slick, artily photographed. More expository (ugh, why does every remake of a horror film have to be Exposition City? We don't NEED to know everything. It's scarier not knowing all the details) than the original, and it actually succeeds in an area that the original films often didn't measure up: it's legitimately scary. The new Freddy makeup is terrifyingly realistic, Jackie Earle Hailey is horrifying. Freddy is actually scary again! No offense to Robert Englund of course, who simply did what he could (which was perfection) in films that make Krueger an unscary anti-hero jokester.

The remake even riffs on the asinine jump-scare ending of the original film with a similarly asinine jump-scare of its own! Utilizing CGI! A little too much!

For real. We don't need CGI in horror, folks. It draws us out of the picture. Horror films don't get huge budgets, the CGI you fuckers can afford never looks good enough. So stop using it. You KNOW what I'm talking about, Mr. CGI Wall That Looked Like a Shitty Pre-Frighteners Effects Test.

Word.

The Frighteners was from 1996, yo.

Why you gotta look all crappier than a film that's 14 years old? Mhmmm. Shoulda just used a latex wall like in the original, muthafuckas.

All in all, a rad night out. A fun scary remake of a series that deserves more credit than it receives.

P.S. Long live the memory of three-times nancy

The Republican Energy Plan - Harnessing the Power of Bigotry!

This is genuinely mind-blowing. I mean, *WOW*. This is the embodiment of the Republican Party in 2010.

Thank you, Anderson Cooper.

You know, when you think about the way Fox News is really just a Republican tool (run by tools, for tools, Tooley McToolersons) the more you realize that it will be studied in media classes for decades to come as America's own "Triumph of the Will".... minus any possible accolades for technical cinematic genius.

(Not-So)-Guilty Pleasures!

Why does this world want to laugh at a guy in his late twenties that reads Jane Austen and owns a couple thousand animated films on DVD?

Why *don't* plebes enjoy Shakespeare?

If it feels so good why do so many people make me feel so wrong for loving it?

:-)

Love, Little Kiwi

Ricky Martin Comes Out

Well, it's as similarly un-shocking as Clay Aiken and Lance Bass, but at least this one *did* have legions of fans (male and female, gay and straight) who might have harboured sexual fantasies. (yes,...even straight male fans, or lesbian fans...never underestimate the powers of latin hips!)

But I'm proud of him. Go, Ricky! While he may not have the fire of a younger fella like Adam Lambert (with his shiny glorious disco balls of brass), I too have to tip my hat to the slower (albeit necessary...) process of those who "Come Out on the sly..."; those who aren't Out right away, and come out later, once the trap of idolization and fandom has been set.

So, thanks Ricky! Hope to see you being an advocate, now :-)

MUAH!

Little Kiwi

Random Lazy Fuckin' Sunday!

SPAM!

The Choking Game

Two of my best buds in the world have written a gorgeous ballad to the ever-popular children's game that kills many every year. Fucking GORGEOUS.

G O R G E O U S.

Sufjan Stevens wishes he wrote this.

DONT! The Musical

Pitbull Love

Just a little snap of the world's loveliest little lady. :-)

and her dog.

;-)

Boys? Men? Masc? Femme?

Continued Conversations With My Mother

Talking with my Mum about more LGBT issues, and our memories of Pride, The Closet, and more.

Fuck, I have an incredible family....

Love, Little Kiwi

Republican Bigotry - 2010

McNuggets and Patti LuPone

What Is Monogamy All About?

Ever have that moment where you start to rethink every 'value' you ever thought you held and started to think that maybe you might not be the person you thought you were?

The concept of monogamy: Something I'm fine with. The concept of a more open sexual life: Something I realized that I'm fine with, too.

Now, I'm not talking about polygamy, per se, but my issues with polygamy are not in how "it affects me" (because it doesn't), but rather the concept of 'freedom' when entering into a polygamous relationship. If polygamy wasn't practiced under the guise of religious expression where (and let's be honest here) women have no real voice or power, and MUST marry lest they anger their deity or their man, well, I'd say it was fine. Polygamy, as it stands now, is mostly practiced by males who 'own' women. If that wasn't true, there'd be more women taking multiple husbands. Fat chance, eh? Ugh, patriarchal societies are so predicable....

I tried breaking the questions in my mind:

complete emotional, sexual (and romantic) trust is not exclusive to monogamy.
it's possible to have a very deep, meaningful and fulfilling relationship with a sexual partner that is not your chosen romantic life partner, and have it be in no way detrimental to your chosen romantic life partner.

(holy, trying to find other ways to say "boyfriend/husband", eh?)

Now, it's not for everyone. and it will not work for every couple. just like monogamy doesn't work for everyone.
gay males have a shared orientation, but that's just our orientation, it's not our sexuality. we each have our own individual sexuality, with our own individual sexual appetites, urges, desires, and capacity for emotional-sexual relations.

and it really goes for all humans. Read the Kinsey research, folks.

and it's not just about *FUCKING*, either.

remember, folk. open-relationship doesn't even necessarily mean "married but with one night stands".
i know i'm not the only human being who enjoys getting to really know and befriend and develop connections with my sexual partners...
it's not just about "being free to fuck a random hot guy".

i've been Out for a while now. i have seen all kinds of relationships thrive, and all kinds of relationship fall apart.
the only universal constant is that we're all diverse.
i thank GOD for the sexual partners I've had over the years, from what i've shared and learned from them, and i'm not just talking sexually, boys.
we're all different. nobody's experience or 'love' is any less rich than anyone else's because one couple is monogamous and one couple is open.

while one couple may say "We're so in love that we don't want to be with anyone else" another couple may say "We're so in love that we can share sexuality with others, and each other, with such trust and understanding that there's no fear or feelings of jealousy"

viva la shortbus generation!

i know how i feel about monogamy. i know how i feel about non-monogamous relationships.

i don't know where i sit in terms of it now, personally, for me. And of course, i cannot say where those thoughts will lead in the near and distant futures.

But I'm thinking. And thinking is always a good thing.

One day, maybe i'll wanna get ----gamously gay married. i can't say poly or mono yet. we haven't decided as a couple.

Riff and Prot Propose Marriage

Which Side of History Will You Be On?

Pop Goes the Culture?

Because Ordering Takeout Can Be Difficult When.........

AND THE PREQUEL

Life Goes On, Bigotry Remains?

My best friend was recently contact, via facebook (of course), by an old friend from high school whom he has not seen or communicated with in about ten years. They were good friends in their early teens, and truth be told, for a very long while Mark was her only friend.

This is an exact transcript of how their first exchange in 10 years played out.

Crystal Schlieker November 30 at 7:40pm
Mark--It is wonderful to find you here. My mom told me that you got great reviews in Omaha last week. I was back for Thanksgiving, and it was too bad that your concert wasn't a week later. I am in Chicago now--if you are ever up here, let me know! I hope you are doing well, and I would love to stay in touch!

Crystal

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Mark Equality Willett November 30 at 10:15pm
How's Chicago? It's good to hear from you.

I guess you should make sure you know who I am before you decide if you want to see my statuses pop up on your page. I'm very out and proud and have become a firm believer in equal rights, especially for gay marriage. It's important to me.
I'm not sure we would see eye to eye on these things. When I was in HS you told me you were afraid for my soul because I was gay and warned me I might go to Hell. It's something that's stuck with me my whole life. I'm not angry or anything, rather, it helped me decide that my life was not wrong and that I was born this way. And knowing I was definitely born this way, I can take comfort that I am still a good person and will be loved in the afterlife for being true to who I was made to be.
I'd love to keep in touch either way, but I'll hold off on us butting heads with my sexuality over Facebook, for now.
I treasure all our memories and friendship.

Fondest,

Mark

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Crystal Schlieker November 30 at 11:05pm
Chicago is good! I have been here just over 2 years, and I love it. It has taken me a while to get adjusted back to America. I don't know if you knew or not, but I was in China for five years after college. I just moved back to America in 2007.

I want to thank you for your candidness and please know, that I would very much like to keep in touch regardless of what we agree or disagree about. For me, facebook is an easy way to do that, but if you perfer to have my email that is also fine. It is true that we do not see eye to eye, but please know that I have always loved you very much. I actually have been hoping to get back in contact with you for a long time. My beliefs are unchanged, though perhaps now at the age of 29, I am sure I would have more tact in expressing them, then I did ten years ago! Please know that I am not looking for a facebook argument, or any kind of argument for that matter! I have many friends in all different walks of life, and I am not one to get into cyber discussions about much. So, as long as you are also ok with seeing my statuses pop on your page, I am also fine.

I have always loved you as my good friend and also remember and treasure so many memories! I would really like to know more about what you have been up to with performing, etc. My performing is now limited to a great show for 2nd and 3rd graders. But I love it...what can I say.

Crystal

Giving Thanks to Our Heroes

The Voice of a Demographic

Buddies