wonka vision

11 september, 2005
when i was just a little boy, i asked my mother what would i be? would i be handsome, would i be rich, here's what she said to me..." just be careful".

as i look back, i have to wonder what she really meant. i remember having a hundred or more questions to ask about the things that were going through my head, thoughts not every 13 year old has mind you. the response of "just be careful" certainly wasn't the best answer to all of my questions then but it did help me survive a few things over the years. there is one other important question that i arrived at later on in life that i wish now, i had asked back then..."what if he's straight?" better yet, "can we even be friends?" i don't think that anyone on the planet has the right answer to any of these, although some may qualify simply based on personal experience. in the end the reality of it is we all decide how we act and how we react. the path we travel is wide. there's no need to make it straight or narrow. just relax, listen, respect one another and open your eyes. chances are, you will see a world of pure imagination...

as i have mentioned before, i have been spending a lot of time with the boys downstairs (ed & matt) and as each time ends and the next one begins, i can only think of all the fun and countless hours of laughter we have, every time. hey, don't get the wrong idea...its not always hours and hours of drinking, smoking and dirty conversations. we have each spent a fair amount of personal time doing things for one another, simply as a means of helping a friend. ed's been working on the final repairs on my jetta (such a well toned, greasy mechanic), matts been sharing his music and playing his acoustic guitar for me (yeah, thats my soft side), i got to splash just a little color and added a few pieces of furniture to their apartment, ed's taken on the laundry detail knowing well off the department of health was soon to call, matts put more miles on the vacuum cleaner than ever before, ed's still trying to let other people talk once in a while but fails most times, matt has finally publicly spoken aloud of his dark secret love for "the buzzer", i found out what "dropping a duce" means along with what "dsl's" are. yeh, ed shaves it, matt loves to touch his stomach and i actually find a peacefully place to be myself amongst them.

of course there are times when some of our ideas clash, the views on pleasure are north & south and the definition of "clean" has three different versions. beyond all that, at the end of each day, we all have a few things in common...graham loves our hair, regular or menthal doesn't matter when it's the last three cigarettes and we all have come to love one another for who we are, not what we are.

if i had to choose one, the answer is easy...they already had.

to be continued...

film september, 2005

film...
it's a mental and visual experience i crave daily.

11 september, 2005
well it's finally arrived, ang lee's brokeback mountain. it comes as no surprise to me that it won the highest honor, the golden lion, at this years venice film festival. the next big question...will america embrace this controversial love story with an open mind? or will they spit more venom and blame the film makers for promoting our" "evil" lifestyle? time will tell what will be said. here is the movie poster, a brief synopsis and a link to the trailer.


Set against the sweeping landscapes of Wyoming and Texas, this epic love story tells of two young men -- a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy -- who meet in the summer of 1963 while driving cattle on a mountain range. They unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.

HELLBENT

Opens in select cities. September - October

hellbent-themovie.com

The first ever GAY Slasher film!!!

HellBent is the terrifying original new feature from writer/director Paul Etheredge-Ouzts and Joseph Wolf, the co-creator of such horror classics as Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street. With a serial killer on the loose during West Hollywood 's Halloween Carnival, four gay friends will have to fight for their lives to make it through a night filled with flamboyant costumes, beautiful people, drugs, music and sex.

A wild, relentless ride that combines appealing characters, unexpected surprises, and shocking scares, HellBent is a refreshing new classic for the horror genre.

between page 30 & 35 september, 2005

there are many "other" stories that are news worthy. unfortunatley they get lost in the middle.

Eleven US children 'found caged'

Eleven children have been removed from a home in the US state of Ohio where they were apparently locked up in small cages, the authorities have said.

The children, aged one to 14, said they slept in cells only one metre (40in) high. They had no pillows or blankets, according to a Huron County sheriff.

The children's adoptive and foster parents denied abusing or neglecting them at a custody court hearing.

The 11 children have now been placed with foster families.

They were removed from the house in Wakeman, northern Ohio, after a children's services investigator spotted one of the children in a cage.

Lt Randy Sommers, of Huron County Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press that they had found nine cages built into the wall of an upstairs bedroom.

The cages had alarms that went off if opened, he said.

One of the boys said he had been made to sleep in a cage at night for three years, Lt Sommers said. The doors to some of the cells were blocked with heavy furniture.

Prosecutors are reviewing the case against Sharen and Mike Gravelle, who are foster or adoptive parents to all the children. No charges had been filed as of Monday night.

County prosecutor Russell Leffler said the couple claimed a psychiatrist had recommended the children be caged, AP reports.

The children were said to have a range of disabilities including autism and foetal alcohol disorder.