The Gospel According To John

I love Maurice Sendak

2012-01-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

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Year End: 2011

2012-01-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

Some years are filled with change, some with sadness, some with hope... I’ll remember 2011 as a year of significant accomplishment. A major milestone in my professional life was met by the completion of my first film. Hollywood to Dollywood was shot and mostly edited in 2010, but we focused-grouped and re-shot and had our premiere in 2011. At the packed 600-seat DGA theatre on Sunset Blvd, as part of Outfest; it was a day I don’t think I’ll ever forget. And I’d have been fairly happy if that was the culmination of the journey, but thanks to the tireless efforts of Gary and Larry Lane, it’s become the little-documentary-that-could, playing since July in almost 50 film festivals world-wide and picking up over a dozen awards along the way, including Best Documentary and Best Director. I truly couldn’t be more proud of this film. Hopefully the music licensing issues will be worked out and we’ll find distribution in 2012!

It may seem trite to some, but this year was one of physical accomplishment for me as I worked out hard with Joao, my trainer, and changed my body in ways I didn’t think possible. It’s not like I was terribly out of shape, but just slight physical modifications have had positive effects on other aspects of my life: confidence, health, work etc. I guess as 40 approaches, the motivation gets stronger, and I actually find myself feeling better now than I ever have before. Hopefully, this is a trend that will continue through the new year and beyond.

Work continued at a steady clip, with no shortage of travel to shoot new and interesting projects. Between January and December I found myself in:
-Palm Springs: rang in the New Year with the boys;

-San Francisco: to continue shooting with Larkin Street;

-New York: during one of the coldest weeks on record, but working with three lovely Russian sisters made it a blast;

-Mendocino, CA: a phenomenal weekend at John Dixon’s inn to celebrate his and Mike’s lebenspartnerschaft;

-Puerto Rico and St. Croix: to shoot a new installment in the ongoing Path webseries;

-Palm Springs: for White Party weekend, though we actually didn’t go to the party;

-New Jersey: to shoot a pilot on old barns, and got to visit with Ali and Anthony;

-San Francisco: back for Larkin Street pickups;

-Las Vegas: for a killa’ weekend with fellow birthday boys Zac, Bruce and Brian;

-Southland Tour 1: Raleigh, Atlanta, Chattanooga and Birmingham to shoot more of the webseries, see Mike and ‘dem in the ATL, Mom for Mother’s Day and Jen in the ‘ham;

-Portland, OR: continue shooting webseries with Matt and Tom;

-Palm Springs: Memorial Day at the Bradbury House;

-Portlnd, OR: more shooting and yummy food trucks;

-San Francisco: to see new Tales of the City musical and dance at Bootie SF;

-Laguna: July 4th beach and shopping and fireworks;

-New York and DC: continue with webseries shooting, and also see friends in NY and Leah in DC;

-Southland Tour 2: (this time with Greg on board for his first time ever in the South) Atlanta with the guys; Chad’s 40th at Lake Martin, AL; Signal Mtn. and singing at Tom and Julianne’s cabin; Nashville to shoot webseries; then H2D screening in Memphis—9 awesome days!;

-Atlanta: again! for H2D screening with Mom, Billy, Jen, Rohit, Mike etc. just awesome…;

-Palm Springs: pride;

-Palm Springs: 2 week sojourn at Jack’s house to work, relax and do press for H2D; also convinced myself that I should start looking to buy something there soon;

-Chattanooga: for Christmas with the family;

-Palm Springs: ring in the New Year!!

Damn, no wonder I didn’t have time for much else this year. Though I did manage to see some good shows, both theatre and concerts, in 2011. Top among those were: Book of Mormon on Broadway, Les Miserables at the Ahmanson with our moms, Dolly at the Hollywood Bowl and Kylie at the Fox in Atlanta for one epic night with Mr. Head. Also really enjoyed Shrek at the Pantages, Tales of the City in San Francisco, Adam’s Family (starring Jimmy B!) on Broadway, Follies on Broadway, Cirque du Soliel’s ode to cinema, Iris at the Kodak, one of my all-time favorite’s Rocky Horror Show at the Old Globe in San Diego, Bring it On at the Ahmanson, and the debut of Mack & Poppy in Hollywood. As for movies and tv—Downton Abbey caused a massive sensation in our little neo-Edwardian social circle and Bridesmaids and Crazy Stupid Love stand out in a rather lackluster year for films. The big movie, for me, was Hollywood to Dollywood. I also got a second music video out that I’m super proud of, for Laurence Duff’s Amor & Psyche:

Seeing as I love to eat and drink, a year-end piece just ain’t complete without mentioning some awesome nights out. At the top of my list was The Bazaar at the SLS. Uh… I didn’t have any idea what was happening with high-end dining until experiencing this. Thank you Paulo for a really memorable meal. Marvin’s in DC with Leah and Martin, Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham with Jen was fantastic, Nobu with Paulo in NY- uh, again, holy shit, that’s some good sushi, and also Kai’s new restaurant, Currywurst (on-going!) on Fairfax. Sooooo good…
Downtown’s new hot spot, Perch, opened directly across from our loft so we’ve lost our privacy on the patio, but we’ve gained an awesome new neighborhood restaurant. St. Patrick’s day at Villains was, uh, well I don’t really remember it, but the pictures say that I had a great time with Matt and ‘dem, Bootie in both LA and SF continues to be the best night for dancin’, MJ’s with Kevin (after some delicious home-cooked concoction of his), and First Fridays at the Natural History Museum (thank you Tarik for turning me onto that). Sadly, success killed Summertramp, the hipster dtla pop-up waterpark, imho.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two epic fails from the past year, lest my life should appear all unicorns and butterflies. The first would be our first attempt at a potluck dinner for our first annual holiday concert at the loft. With 150 rsvps, and “pot luck” plainly stated on the invites, I thought we’d be set for a bounteous holiday feast. Unless you consider two roasted chickens and 7 delicious cakes a feast (which I kinda do), which is all we ended up with to feed the masses. First and last time I ask gays to make food. Ugh...
The second was the Sky Lantern Debacle of 2011. Oy, we almost set Palm Springs on fire on New Year's Eve by sending a miniature hot-air balloon (lit by an open flame!) aloft into the night sky. In a desert. In a residential neighborhood. With power lines and palm trees everywhere. Those five heart-stopping moments were some of the worst of the year.

In April, Leah and Jesse and Martin came to stay with me on my birthday. We all loved the street art exhibit at the MOCA/Geffen, hiked Griffith Park, did Venice Beach and hit Bottega. Twice.
Then in late June, Matt, Brian, Greg and myself hosted our dear, sweet mothers for four days of dinners, shows, museums, sight-seeing, laughing, story-telling, photo ops, movies, views, lunches, shopping, drinking and singing. That was an incredibly special burst of activity that we’ll always treasure.

And on September 13th, I met a great guy by the name of David. He is a cousin of the Ringenberg's--old family friends. We had dinner and drinks at Villains and I haven't looked back. Thankfully he lives around the corner from me, so even though he’s getting his masters in architecture (like my brother), we’ve found time to embark on an fantastic voyage.

Shit People Say

2012-01-11T16:22:00.001-08:00

It's the meme that won't die, but there are some really funny ones.
Here are my faves:

"Same song. It's the same song."

"Thas cute, right...?"

"Oooo turn it up; that is my JAM!"

"Motha fucka you want a bulow. Jawab."

"I just got the best deal on printer ink!"

I mean, people are clever. Thank God for the YouTubes...

Awesome Aussies

2011-11-25T11:21:00.001-08:00

Shameless self-promotion

2011-11-09T09:35:00.001-08:00

But it's my first cover! So I'm proud of it!
(Even if it is an odd mix of Ted Baker fashion, food and wine (w/recipes!) and h2D interview...)

Great montage

2011-11-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

So good...

2011-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

H2D in ATL

2011-10-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Incredible night with friends and family in Atlanta.
And we won Best Documentary.

Dale Carnegie in the Digital Age

2011-10-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

I read How to Win Friends and Influence Others at an impressionable age, maybe as a senior in high school. And while I may not have grasped all of it's principles, it definitely made a mark on my basic human interaction skills. Let's just say I wasn't the kindest person back then as a closeted kid in an incredibly homophobic environment.
But reading this NY Times article about how the book is being updated for the digital age I see that it actually had a much bigger imprint on my life than I'd thought.

Consider a few of his foundational principles—don’t criticize, condemn, or complain; talk about others’ interests; if you’re wrong, admit it; let others save face. Such principles don’t make you a clever conversationalist or a resourceful raconteur. They remind you to consider others’ needs before you speak. They encourage you to address difficult subjects honestly and graciously. They prod you to become a kinder, humbler manager, spouse, colleague, salesperson, and parent. Ultimately, they challenge you to gain influence in others’ lives not through showmanship or manipulation but through a genuine habit of expressing greater respect, empathy, and grace.

I like to think that these tenants have had some lasting influence on me. I've certainly become a much happier and mellower guy than I was at 17...

I love fireflies

2011-10-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Missed seeing the fireflies when I was in TN in September (due to rain on Labor Day), but these shots kinda, almost (but not really) make up for it.
Gorgeous, nonetheless...

Used to want to be a dancer so badly...

2011-09-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Justin Peck and Janie Taylor, The Block Magazine from Justin Peck on Vimeo.

2011-07-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Good radio interview I did on a very busy Sunday.
It starts about 27 minutes in.

H2D stuff

2011-06-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here's our Facebook page.
Here's our website.

UPCOMING FILM FESTIVALS

LA: Observed

2011-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Billy tipped me off to this fascinating perspective (the architect's? the city planner's) on LA.
"...the city presented itself to me as a series of colliding events and interactions. Multiple cultures and landscapes emerged through the light of the overexposed horizon in flashes of contradiction: fertile and arid, dark and blinding, restrictive and generous — spaces ripe with inconsistency. Slowly, the city's form revealed itself around me, incomplete and genuine. I knew at that first moment that Los Angeles condensed all of the challenges and all of the possibilities of the contemporary city and resembled the future of what was to come. At first, my reaction to Los Angeles was the opposite of the reaction of most people, who find the relentlessness frightening, numbing or overwhelming. Instead, the sprawling, horizontal city-plane; the peculiar, verdant confusions of nature and garden; the mineral-like opacity of the light; and the constant pace of movement were eerily familiar and comfortable. Los Angeles felt like home."

Haircut!

2011-04-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

So long mullet, that I've rocked for at least 5 years. Maybe longer...

It looks like I'm enlisting in the new gay military.

Prairie Home Companion

2011-04-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

In Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium.
Great broadcast with Emmylou Harris and you can hear all 5 segments here if you missed it.
I feel like I'm a little late to the table with this group, The Civil Wars, but I loved their harmonizing on PHC in the song Poison and Wine.
I guess it was on an ep of Grey's Anatomy way back in '09, but it's new to me.

Bill Maher

2011-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

...believes Democrats should get tougher:
"Republicans don't run from unpopular stances and they stand by their convictions. Stupid, ignorant, world-destroying convictions based on disproven economic fantasies, and ancient books filled with primitive morality and magic people, but convictions nonetheless."

Preach, brotha...

Gaga Goes Country

2011-03-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Good stuff:

Uh, and more amazing:

It's the song the just keeps giving!

Speaking of Madonna, here's Sugarland covering Like a Prayer:

And speaking of Sugarland, here they are covering Mumford & Sons:

My iTunes debut!

2011-03-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

If you only buy one live album from a gay chorus this year, make it this one. And if you only buy one song off this album, make it "Children of the Revolution/Smells Like Teen Spirit"--my iTunes debut!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/children-revolution-smells/id424637789?i=424637793

My second music video

2011-03-14T18:47:00.001-07:00

Raw selects from Amor and Psyche music video shoot:

Selects from "Amor and Psyche" music video from Bloodrush Films on Vimeo.

Will post the finished product once it's edited.

Career defining performances II

2011-01-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

Realized I need to create a new post for Classic Rock performances (Standards are below).

Career defining performances

2011-01-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, we've got a permanent (?) archive of some of the most astounding singers performing their signature numbers. No rhyme or reason to what I'm including here, but I intend to keep adding to this post as I remember other legendary performances.

2010, A Year in Retrospect

2010-12-23T17:07:00.000-08:00

With so many highlights from the last few years ending up on Facebook, I haven't really seen a need to type up a year-in-review piece. Then I remembered my original intention for writing/logging/scrapbooking a year's memories (and for this blog, period) was to have something to read when I'm old and forgetful, a state I find myself creeping ever closer to... sigh...
So, while I hope any friends or family who read this are entertained, the actual goal is just to help me fill in the blanks when I'm senile. Off we go...!

It was a big, round-numbered year, 2010 was; I'm sad to say goodbye to it.
Sure, it held its share of pain, one serious heartbreak, but all in all, I'd put it in the plus column. And ending 17 years of injustice with the repeal of DADT is the best Christmas gift I could've asked for. Not that I'm signing up (as someone once said: The best thing about being gay is not having to marry or join the army), but such institutionalized inequity has been a terrible blemish on this country for too long. As John Cameron Mitchell put it: The military, despite its conservative reputation, is the most socialist, egalitarian institution in this country. Amen.

I rang in 2010 on a beach in Tulum, Mexico: kayaking, sun, pelicans, ancient pyramids, delicious food and tequila.

Not long after returning I moved from Los Angeles Street (bordering Skid Row on the east side of downtown) to the Title Guarantee Building penthouse, smack dab in the center of it all: metro stop on the corner, Pershing Square for my front yard, and 4k square feet to create in.

My roommate, Toby, and I have thrown some pretty memorable fetes in this loft over the last year. Chief among them: Toby's 35th; Brian, Bruce and John's Movin On Up birthdays; mid-July BBQ on the terrace; a gallery exhibition for Artwalk; and Holidays... On Ice, a skating party.

2010 saw some major achievements with GMCLA: arguably our most successful artistic concert with L'Amour at the Avalon theatre in Hollywood:

...and our True Colors video contribution to the It Gets Better project.

I'm particularly proud of this video as I know that it's actually having an impact on real lives across the world. The feedback has been overwhelming at times and in its short life on the web has been seen by more people than have seen GMCLA in 31 years! We shot with 3 cameras (thanks Ben and Toby) for about an hour (maybe 6 takes), I edited it over night, and it was up in less than 24 hours. The power of modern media.

As seems to be the case every few years, there was lots of traveling in 2010. I always love weekends with the boys in Laguna and Palm Springs. Those alone are reason enough to live in Los Angeles forever. So it was with total joy that I introduced my brother, Billy and his wife and daughter, Abigail and Blythe, to the charms of the desert, staying at the Ace and visiting the Parker. And thankfully, I've still got one friend (Kevin) who loves to take his shirt off and dance under the sun at the White Party. Not sure how many more of those lie in the future, but damn I love it. Kevin, Matt, Brian and I also enjoyed the quaint, old fashioned charms of Folsom St. in San Fran in September. Earlier that month I happened through New Orleans the same weekend as Southern Decadence, which certainly lived up to its name. A party weekend of a decidedly different stripe was Gerry's bachelor party in Vegas, where we actually (not joking) lost the groom for several unaccounted for hours.

I got lucky this year directing several projects in interesting locales with interesting folks: America's strongest cop in Connecticut; the Clevelander Hotel on South Beach; Native American ceremonies in the Navajo Nation, New Mexico; and an auction pilot in Atlanta. I spent the hottest week (ever, on record) in NY at the end of July, but luckily had the pool on the roof of the SoHo house to cool off in. And Shakespeare in the Park at night.

But the most exciting/exhausting trip of the year was from Hollywood to Dollywood. Gary and Larry Lane, twins from North Carolina that I've known for many years, came to me with the idea of shooting a documentary about them delivering a script they've written to Dolly Parton on a cross-country trip. How could I say no to a) directing my first feature-length doc; b) a cross-country trip in an RV; and c) meeting Dolly Parton!! We took off at 6am on May 3rd and spent a week meeting folks all across I 40, ending in Pigeon Forge, TN--just up the road from where I grew up. It was an epic adventure that did not disappoint. I've spent almost every free moment since returning wrestling the footage into shape. It's definitely been a labor of love, but damn I'm proud of the result. We sent a rough cut to Dolly last week for her blessing to use a dozen of her songs.

One of the most joyful moments of this (or any other) year was seeing my sister marry her husband, Martin. It was a beautiful weekend in Annapolis, MD and the ceremony was held on the St. John's campus where they met. We danced and celebrated into the night.

Leah and Martin's wedding is bittersweet in that it's also a reminder of the last trip my dear, sweet grandma was able to make. Her's was an adventurous spirit that traveled all over, cared deeply about her friends and family, loved to laugh, cook and live well. Her passing in October rocked our family. I don't think any of her large, loving family will ever have as wonderful a Christmas as we did for many, many years at 149 Vital. I miss her viscerally whenever I allow my mind to wander too long in that direction. Eloise Lavin will be remembered for generations to come. Rest in Peace, sweet lady.

On a lighter note, Grandma's oldest son (my dad, John) visited her oldest grandchild (me) in CA for an awesome weekend of white water rafting and camping on the American River near Sacramento. Matt, Brian, Greg and I had our dads (and my brother) out for what turned out to be the best weekend of the year.

Hopefully we'll get our moms out next year for vineyard tours and a spa, or something like that.

There were some really memorable birthday parties this year:
Wagner's field day

Nate's superhero at the Mezz

Amsden's post Disney Hall bash (not posting your picture, Matt)

and Greg's on a motha f***ing boat

And also plenty of great evenings just singing at Jase and Chet's, at the Aliso Creek or here at the loft. Thank God for musically talented friends! Who knew opera could be improvised? Treasures, boys. Treasures.

2010 saw me fall further in love with DTLA. Artwalk, of course, but also a pop-up water park in a parking lot, a skating rink in my front yard, Ocho, Starry Kitchen, The Mezz, Bottega, The Edison, The Association, Baby Cakes... I mean, it still baffles me that anyone lives anywhere else in LA. True, part of the reason it's so great is that it's "a small town with big buildings" (only about 40,000 residents), still a wild frontier, still a little dangerous and exciting, and you really get to discover places first. The Downtown rags put a coffee shop opening on the front page, neighbors know each other, we walk places, and Beyonce performs down the street as klieg lights paint the sky. And its only 1.5 hours to Palm Springs, a half hour shorter than from WeHo, the Valley or Santa Monica. Just sayin'...

As for movies this year, you know I really didn't see too many, unfortunately. I really liked a lot of mainstream hits like Avatar, Social Network, Inception, True Grit and How To Train Your Dragon (really loved that one) and some smaller ones: The Kids Are Alright (maybe my favorite of 2010), A Single Man, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, and A Marine Story (rock on, Alice!!).

For live entertainment: the Dreamgirls tour (wow); Glee in concert (thank you Chuck); American Idiot and Winter's Tale (funny Jesse) in NY; Rufus at the Greek (I mean, just... damn); Scissor Sisters at the Palladium (killer night, Nate & Matt); and the interactive scavenger hunt/performance art called Accomplice that I had no intention of enjoying, but actually kinda liked (thanks Matty).

In the wide world of reality television, nothing entertains me more than the Real Housewives of Atlanta--just incredible docu-soap producing and untoppable characters:

In scripted, it's the trifecta of Modern Family, The Office and 30 Rock.

I wish I'd read more in 2010, but I made up for quantity with quality: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is a stunner. Not for what happens or doesn't happen, but for the quality of the writing, the contemporary observations and thoughts. Its the kind of novel that makes one want to write one of their own. But with a bar that high, I mean... what's the point?
In non-fiction I highly recommend John Waters Role Models. Interestingly enough, he's long been a role model of mine and I'd love to pen a book like this some day.

The NY Times has a pretty damn comprehensive list of all things pop culture that pinged the radar in 2010.

And here's a killer mashup of hot pop top 40 from 2010:

A year of many, many highs and one profound low.
My glass is raised to you, 2010!

(Still writing and editing this. Stay tuned...)

Vaudeville Stages

2010-12-04T09:58:00.001-08:00

I mean, if I could live my life in one location, it would probably be an awesome old abandoned theatre. Especially since I spent the bulk of my childhood attempting to create some kind of facsimile of this in my backyard in Louisiana. And in my imagination I got fairly close. Ha.
Digging this trend in music videos of bands playing on a quaint old stage (see below: Mumford and Sons, Cosmo Jarvis), often in one continuous take (though there may be some clever slight of hand on this one).

Cosmo Jarvis

2010-12-03T11:41:00.001-08:00

I will never love another...

Freedom

2010-11-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

Just realized (thanks, Leah) that Time wrote a cover story on Jonathan Franzen, arguably the best contemporary American novelist.

Quote from Jonathan in the article:
Reading, in its quietness and sustained concentration, is the opposite of busyness. "We are so distracted by and engulfed by the technologies we've created, and by the constant barrage of so-called information that comes our way, that more than ever to immerse yourself in an involving book seems socially useful," Franzen says. "The place of stillness that you have to go to to write, but also to read seriously, is the point where you can actually make responsible decisions, where you can actually engage productively with an otherwise scary and unmanageable world."

Also, from the article:
"There is something beyond freedom that people need: work, love, belief in something, commitment to something. Freedom is not enough. It's necessary but not sufficient. It's what you do with freedom — what you give it up for — that matters."

I intend to write more on Freedom at some point. It is magnificent.

Some (very mainstream) tunes I'm digging on right now

2010-11-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

(especially from 3:15 to the end. awesome).

GMCLA: True Colors

2010-10-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Really proud of this video I shot and edited in support of the It Gets Better project.

America's Holy Writ: Newsweek

2010-10-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

I actually kinda agree with some of the points the Tea Partiers are making. But this story in Newsweek explains their crazy logic when it comes to constitution worship.
While I could in some weird way see myself supporting many of their beliefs, this is where I get stuck:

Like other fundamentalists, they seek refuge from the complexity and confusion of modern life in the comforting embrace of an authoritarian scripture and the imagined past it supposedly represents. Like other fundamentalists, they see in their good book only what they want to see: confirmation of their preexisting beliefs. Like other fundamentalists, they don’t sweat the details, and they ignore all ambiguities. And like other fundamentalists, they make enemies or evildoers of those who disagree with their doctrine.

Its ridiculous that I haven't thought much about what the constitution says or doesn't say since high school, but this article has gotten me interested in its original intent and importance.

Louisiana, October 2010

2010-10-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

Louisiana, September 2010

2010-09-12T12:00:00.001-07:00

Dad Q'ing too much food
Seafood gumbo at the airport
Carol's boiled shrimp
Fried oyster po boy on Royal St.

Haters protesting Decadence ("the reason God sent Katrina!")
Ash, the fierce bi, tranny porn star I befreinded.
Because its Bourbon St.
In New Orleans.
During Decadence.

iTunes Playlist

2010-09-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I love Pandora and, lately, Shazam for discovering new music, new artists. Over the last couple of years whenever I heard something awesome, I'd bookmark it. Well, I put together a playlist of all those bookmarks, many by artists I'd never even heard of, but who's music blew me away. I think its pretty great.
Have a listen:

New York: July 2010

2010-07-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

The hottest month EVER recorded in NYC. Ugh...

View from the "reading room" at SoHo House. With iced tea.
Awesome architecture from Apple store.
View from Trump SoHo: day.
View from Trump SoHo: sunrise.
The trek to Brooklyn is worth it for the view on the return.

iPhone shots that were texted in lieu of phone calls:
Nest sculpture on the Met roof: For Billy
Title Gurantee sign in a pub in Brooklyn: For Toby
Ketchup store in the Village: For Bryan
Self explanatory: For Leah
Self explanatory: For Mom

More from the Met rooftop:
Stairs within the Met's nest sculpture.
No nails; all rope lashings.
Took 8 months to build it.
Finding the light.
Cocktails starting at 5:30.

L'Amour

2010-06-23T09:22:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Child

2010-06-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Successful concert weekend at the Avalon in Hollywood on June 19th and 20th, 2010.
We covered an amazing Rufus Wainwright song.

From the "Stories from the Frontline" series

2010-05-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

Obviously from a WWII vet, not a current soldier. Printed originally in an early gay LA magazine called ONE in 1961.

Chicken Shake

2010-05-24T12:32:00.001-07:00

Enjoying (?) a chicken shake with America's strongest man, Derek Poundstone.

4 boiled chicken breasts. Add water. Blend. Enjoy.
About 120 grams of protein in 10 seconds for the strongman on the go. Delicious.

And here's a novel way to workout: with a heavy sledgehammer!

Times Square turnaround 5/19/10

2010-05-24T12:29:00.001-07:00

Moving On Up

2010-05-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Bruce McCarthy, Brian Wright and I celebrated our 35/36th birthdays in grand style on May 15, 2010.
Here are the links to the three photo albums from the par-tay:
Photo Booth
Vanity Fair spread
Party People

Diana Ross: My Man

2010-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

How am I 36 and just hearing/seeing this version for the first time:

Good Company: The Musicals of Stephen Sondheim

2010-04-23T10:58:00.001-07:00

Absolute heaven:
An interactive timeline of all of Sondheim's shows.
The power of the interwebs at work, kids.

Now that's a birthday bouquet...

2010-04-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

from a cover model...

And something more contemporary

2010-04-19T12:42:00.001-07:00

What my folks may have been listening to when I was born

2010-04-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Some of the most popular music in April of 1974:

(Groovy instrumentals were really popular that year)

God, what a great time for music...

LAX Icon

2010-04-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

NY Times has a story on the very cool Theme Building (never knew it was named that) at LAX:
"Rather than reinforcing the building with lots of new concrete, which would be expensive and change its physical features, the designers built a 1.2 million-pound steel weight that sits on flexible bearings — known as a tuned mass damper. It anchors the existing roof of the central cylinder of the building and essentially serves to counteract the movement of the structure in an earthquake."

Tuned mass damper--love adding new architecture terms to my vocabulary.

Every painting in MoMA on April 10th, 2010

2010-04-15T21:48:00.001-07:00

Stunning:

Not the video, the art available in one building at one time.
So many associations with so many of these works.

The Sandra Bullock Trade

2010-03-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Very interesting article about trading a severe personal blow for tremendous personal triumph (a la: Sandra winning the Oscar then finding out her husband was cheating. Or, on a much darker level, Jennifer Hudson winning the Oscar, then finding her mother and nephew murdered).

"The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness is commuting. According to one study, joining a group that meets even just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income. According to another, being married produces a psychic gain equivalent to more than $100,000 a year...
The overall impression from this research is that economic and professional success exists on the surface of life, and that they emerge out of interpersonal relationships, which are much deeper and more important."

Really interesting that they're practically equating "interpersonal relationships" (ie: friendships) with marriage, as far as impact on happiness goes.

SL-5: Interior

2010-03-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

This is the kitchen and living room/studio:

My room at the top of the tower, with windows on all 4 walls facing 4 directions:

SL-5: Interior

2010-03-10T18:56:00.001-08:00

Here are the office and media levels, and the 3 sets of stairs that connect them:

SL-5: Exterior

2010-03-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots I snapped this morning of the upper and lower balconies of my new place, SKYLoft @5th (or SL-5, for short).
First the crazy huge upper patio that wraps around the East and South facing facades:

The smaller lower balcony, off the kitchen:

Göbekli Tepe

2010-03-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Fascinating for so many reasons: a temple was "uncovered" just 15 years ago in Turkey which predates by MILLENNIA any other structure of its size.
So worth the read.

"The site isn't just old, it redefines old: the temple was built 11,500 years ago—a staggering 7,000 years before the Great Pyramid, and more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge first took shape. The ruins are so early that they predate villages, pottery, domesticated animals, and even agriculture—the first embers of civilization. In fact, Schmidt thinks the temple itself, built after the end of the last Ice Age by hunter-gatherers, became that ember—the spark that launched mankind toward farming, urban life, and all that followed."

Title Guarantee Building

2010-02-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

I moved 2 weeks ago into a spectacular 1929 Art Deco masterpiece.
4,000 square feet over 3.5 floors, beginning on the 12th floor.
More pics of the space we're calling SL-5 (SkyLoft @5th) to come once we're fully settled in.
One of the greatest things about this place is the massive patio wrapping around the south and east sides of the penthouse.
Here's the view tonight.

Prisencolinensinainciusol

2010-02-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

I made myself a promise that I'd start writing more along with my posts, and not put up so many videos, but then something as awesome as this comes along:

The guy wanted to write a song that sounded like "american english". This is the result. Amazing.

I Got More Than a Feeling

2010-01-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe I'm a little late on this one, but I do love a good mashup!

LA winter

2010-01-18T23:07:00.001-08:00

Ok, you got one week. Make it quick.

(Downtown is a city of low-rises when the clouds hide the skyscrapers).

NY gay bars that have closed over the last decade

2010-01-13T15:37:00.001-08:00

Wow. So many great times, so many memories from so many of these places.
I know many new ones have sprung up to take their place, but seeing all this history that's now gone...
makes me feel old, child.

Photo booths are all the rage

2010-01-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

Taken at John Galich's 40th.

Alicia Keys on SNL

2010-01-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

She is so incredibly talented. Just amazing.
Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart
(Having trouble embedding, but click the link above and check out the first video).

Expressing Yourself

2010-01-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

from the musical Billy Elliot, as re-purposed for GMCLA's 09 holiday show, The Nutcracker

Let the Great World Spin

2010-01-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Utterly fantastic novel. Centered on a dozen characters in New York City in 1974, I recommend it unreservedly to any and all. Thrilling reading.
Here are some reviews on Amazon and you can order it for about $12. Truly great contemporary writing and maybe the best I've ever seen NY captured on the page.
From the NY Times review:
In a loose sense, what connects everyone in this novel is the high-wire walker; the day of his stunt is a pivotal one in all of their lives. But they are bound more powerfully by something else: grief. “Let the Great World Spin” is an emotional tour de force. It is a heartbreaking book, but not a depressing one. Through their anguish, McCann’s characters manage to find comfort, even a kind of redemption.
“Every now and then the city shook its soul out,” he writes. “It assailed you with an image, or a day, or a crime, or a terror, or a beauty so difficult to wrap your mind around that you had to shake your head in disbelief.”

He did B. Davis better than she did

2010-01-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

I remember seeing Charles Pierce on tv as a kid and being scared shitless, not understanding what the hell that was.
Pretty amazing.

Celebrity

2009-12-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

Really insightful cover story from Newsweek that deconstructs our celebrity culture.
"...celebrity isn't an anointment by the media of unworthy subjects, even though it may seem so when you think of minor celebs such as Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, or Levi Johnston, or the gate-crashing Salahis. It is actually a new art form that competes with—and often supersedes—more traditional entertainments like movies, books, plays, and TV shows (and the occasional golf tournament), and that performs, in its own roundabout way, many of the functions those old media performed in their heyday: among them, distracting us, sensitizing us to the human condition, and creating a fund of common experience around which we can form a national community. I would even argue that celebrity is the great new art form of the 21st century."

"9"

2009-12-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

Went to a screening of 9 at the DGA tonight, where afterwords, a Q&A was scheduled with director Rob Marshall. Then they brought out Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Fergie.

The premiere was somewhere tonight, so the stars decided to come with the director for a casual q&a. Awesome. I love LA.

I Am... Yours (condensed)

2009-12-09T15:14:00.001-08:00

Come on to Paradise...

2009-12-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

Amazing on so many levels. Fully incredible:

Choral music for December

2009-12-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

Its no secret that I love me some Christmas music.
Here are two great pieces from the GMCLA holiday repertoire.

Drreamgirls tour

2009-12-01T15:22:00.001-08:00

Ain't much I love more than fine, black women wailin'. Damn.

Comb Sheath

2009-11-30T16:49:00.001-08:00

We decided to have a craft night in Palm Springs this weekend, and the challenge was to create a comb sheath, as seen in last week's episode of Modern Family.

Palm Springs

2009-11-29T13:32:00.001-08:00

Greg & Danny

Palm Springs

2009-11-29T13:31:00.001-08:00

The Parker

The power of music

2009-11-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

Great cover story from a Newsweek reporter and documentary filmmaker who was imprisoned and tortured in Iran for 118 days.
He claims Leonard Cohen's music and lyrics got him through:
"We are listening to one of the songs that kept playing in my head in Evin, that helped me tune out what was happening and find some peace inside myself—
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," by Leonard Cohen:
I loved you in the morning,
Our kisses deep and warm,
Your hair upon the pillow
Like a sleepy golden storm.
Those lines became Paola for me, part of a whole musical refuge of lyrics and melodies. Of such stuff is survival made. Thank you, Mr. Cohen."

Muppets meet Queen

2009-11-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Oughts in 7 minutes

2009-11-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

I love Newsweek.

Dixie in town

2009-11-23T14:17:00.001-08:00

Testing mobile blogger app.
Ahmanson theatre, 11/22/09, LA.

SYTYCD tour

2009-11-23T12:43:00.001-08:00

"One" from A Chorus Line as re-interpreted by the incomporable Mia Michaels:

David Alexander

2009-11-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

Edited this sizzle of David's show at the Los Angeles Theatre during Fashion Week:

And this is last season:

Stage mishap: Greenport Peter Pan fiasco

2009-11-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

Can't get enough of this:

Makes me laugh even just thinking about it.
So much to love here...

Lady Gaga: Bad Romance

2009-11-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

So much that I love about this video:

Music video

2009-11-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

This is the final version of Little Boys and Dinosaurs, the music video I directed and edited for emerging downtown artist, Cassidy Haley:

Liza! at the Hollywood Bowl

2009-11-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Such an incredible show. She's still got it! (Or at least she did on August 29th, 2009).

A living legend.

Equality March in DC: October 11, 2009

2009-11-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

GMCLA: Broadway

2009-11-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

Gay men sing show tunes. Imagine that.

Bitch of Living:

South Pacific medley:

Family (with Jennifer Holiday):

GMCLA: And the Award Goes To...

2009-11-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

A few videos I created for GMCLA's Spring '09 show.
Can You Feel the Love Tonight:

(this one was posted on Towleroad and generated a spirited exchange)

The opening of the show:

And a product placement spot:

Revving this here thingy up again...

2009-11-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted to my old-fashioned blog due to the prevalence of Facebook, but I want to begin doing so again so as to maintain some kind of record of things that amuse/amaze me, people I've met and places I've gone.
FB is still great for posting albums of pics and commenting and such, but who knows how long I'll continue with it; this blog will hopefully still be around when I'm old and gray and feel like looking back on my rapidly receding youth.
New posts to come, but in the meantime I'm moving some faves from FB over here.
Thanks for visiting.

Enrique Iglesias

2009-05-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

This video I shot with Enrique has gotten over 263,000 hits on youtube.

Some recent weekend travels

2009-04-19T10:56:00.001-07:00

Glendale 3/28/09:

Vegas 4/4/09:

Santa Monica 4/17/09:

Palm Springs 4/25/09:
...stay tuned.

Weekend in NY

2009-03-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Phenomenal weekend in NYC with Brian, Matt and Cary (who came up from DC).
Landed Friday evening and went right to The 39 Steps to see our buddy, Sean Mahon, in the lead roll. He was awesome-- Errol Flyn with a British accent.

Brian passed out at intermission.

Saturday afternoon we saw Hair, still in previews. I had my concerns going in as I was obsessed with the movie in high school and have never seen a stage production of it that worked. But they nailed it. Can't say enough how powerful and impressive and deep and beautiful this show is. Just wonderful on every level.

We took some pictures in the steam in Times Square. Of course.

Then Sunday afternoon, we had house seats (7th row center--thank you Jim!!) for Billy Elliot. And wow. Another stellar, home-run, A+ musical. We laughed, cried, rejoiced... it was brilliant. And the kid was, apparently, the understudy which made his big climactic audition all the more exciting. He stopped the show. We, of course, posed in front.

Miss Coco Peru

2009-03-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

And from the sublime to the ridiculous...
Spent a few hours Saturday (less than I would've wanted) shooting a short film to open the upcoming GMCLA show "And the Award Goes To..."
Here are a few stills that Sergey took:

I'll post the video once its completed.

In Studio...

2009-03-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

...with Slash and Ronnie Wood: Guns n' Roses meets The Rolling-f'ing-Stones!
Amazing couple of hours siting in a recording studio yesterday with these two titans of rock, documenting the creative process.

Musical Medly from Oscars

2009-02-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

I don't think I could love this number more than I do.

Its includes just about everything I love about show-biz: Beyonce, glossy stair case, top hats and canes, Jesus Christ Superstar (mashed up with Hairspray?!), a Brad Pitt shout-out, and, of course, Hugh Jackman.
I think it may be perfect.

Residual Check

2009-02-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

This made me laugh: a residual check for $22.81 for a couple of lines on a soap opera many years ago. I have no idea how it even found me as its got my address from when I first moved to LA. Wow... seems like a lifetime ago.

Don't Divorce Us

2009-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Newsweek article

2009-02-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

I've been fascinated by the survivors of the plane crash in the Hudson a few weeks ago, so when Newsweek did a story on why some people survive and others don't, I devoured it.
It goes beyond just "survival" characteristics and into why some people are "lucky" and others aren't. Really, really interesting read.
Here's a piece:

"Luck is not a magical ability or a gift from the gods," Wiseman writes. "Instead, it is a state of mind—a way of thinking and behaving." Above all, he insists that we have far more control over our lives—and our luck—than we realize. Going back to the Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, great thinkers and writers have argued that 50 percent or more of what happens in life is determined entirely by chance (or Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune). Wiseman says no way. He believes that only 10 percent of life is purely random. The remaining 90 percent is "actually defined by the way you think." In other words, your attitude and behavior determine nine tenths of what happens in your life. Wiseman has concluded that there are four reasons why good things happen to certain people.

First, lucky people frequently happen upon chance opportunities. "Being in the right place at the right time is actually all about being in the right state of mind," Wiseman writes. As his newspaper experiment shows, lucky people are more open and receptive to unexpected possibilities. They tend to be more relaxed about life, and they operate with a heightened awareness of the world around them. Quite simply, they spot and seize upon openings that other people simply miss. They also tend to be more social and maintain what Wiseman calls a "network of luck." Most of us know around 300 people on a first-name basis. According to Wiseman, that means you're only two handshakes away from 90,000 people who could bring chance opportunities into your life.

Second, lucky people listen to their hunches and make good decisions without really knowing why. Unlucky people, by contrast, tend to make unsuccessful decisions and trust the wrong people. "My interviews suggested that lucky people's gut feelings and hunches tended to pay off time and time again," Wiseman writes. "In contrast, unlucky people often ignore their intuition and regret their decision." In survival, this kind of instinct can make all the difference.

Third, lucky people persevere in the face of failure and have an uncanny knack for making their wishes come true. They're convinced that life's most unpredictable events will "consistently work out for them." Their world is "bright and rosy," Wiseman writes, while unlucky people expect that things will always go wrong. Their world is "bleak and black." When Wiseman gives lucky and unlucky people a puzzle that is actually impossible to solve, the reactions are very telling. "More than 60 percent of unlucky people said that they thought the puzzle was impossible, compared to just 30 percent of lucky people. As in so many areas of their lives, the unlucky people gave up before they even started."

Fourth, lucky people have a special ability to turn bad luck into good fortune. Of all four defining factors involved in luck, Wiseman believes this one plays the most important role in survival. Wiseman's conclusion echoes the work of Dr. Al Siebert, one of America's foremost authorities on survival psychology. After more than 40 years investigating what he calls "the survivor personality," Siebert believes, "life's best survivors not only cope well, they often turn potential disaster into a lucky development."

Little Boys and Dinosaurs

2009-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick snip of some stuff we shot the first day:

We're picking up tomorrow with a full day of shooting, then Monday night for a live performance at a club with a crowd. Then the editing begins...

Here are some images from the first day of shooting.

My loft became wardrobe, makeup, hair, holding and catering. Oy--its never been so trashed.

Michelle and Billy created some fierce choreography and their dancers rocked it out.

Cassidy was completely fearless the entire day. Great stuff.

Could cut an amazing video from what we shot on Saturday, but we still have another entire of day of shooting. If its anywhere nearly as successful as this weekend, we're going to have an awesome video.

Fantasia.

2009-01-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

Best. Idol. Ever.

Matt Alber "End of the World"

2009-01-27T11:04:00.001-08:00

Wow. Just beautiful. Apparently this was shot in one day at his barbershop.

My Country, Tis of Thee

2009-01-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Wow. Even though HBO neglected to identify the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, they still gave a soul-stirring performance backing up Josh Groban and Heather Headley. And introduced by Queen Latifah! Hello?!

"...sweet land of Liberty. Of thee I sing."

Its incredible when the lyrics you've heard hundreds of times resonate in such a new and profound way.

Rev. Robinson's invocation

2009-01-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will
Bless us with tears - for a world in which over a
billion people exist on less than a dollar a day,
where young women from many lands are beaten and
raped for wanting an education, and thousands die
daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger - at discrimination, at home
and abroad, against refugees and immigrants,
women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort - at the easy,
simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from
our politicians, instead of the truth, about
ourselves and the world, which we need to face if
we are going to rise to the challenges of the
future.
Bless us with patience - and the knowledge that
none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime
soon, and the understanding that our new
president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility - open to understanding
that our own needs must always be balanced with
those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance -
replacing it with a genuine respect and warm
embrace of our differences, and an understanding
that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity -
remembering that every religion's God judges us
by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the
human community, whether across town or across
the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child
Barack, as he assumes the office of President of
the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him
with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style,
President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best
efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL
the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State
needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be
inspired and motivated to make the personal and
common sacrifices necessary to facing the
challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own
words that under his leadership, there will be
neither red nor blue states, but the United
States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a
minority, drawing on that experience of
discrimination, that he might seek to change the
lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and
privacy, and help him remember that even though
he is president, a father only gets one shot at
his daughters' childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask
too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR
too much of this one. We know the risk he and his
wife are taking for all of us, and we implore
you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold
him in the palm of your hand - that he might do
the work we have called him to do, that he might
find joy in this impossible calling, and that in
the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place
of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN."

Tokyo drift

2009-01-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Exhausting but successful whirlwind week in Tokyo shooting a pilot. I think we hit about 30 locations in 5 days. Insane.
My crew, who looked like they stepped out of an anime comic:
Another risky culinary experience:
Shooting the skyline from the top of the Fuji Studios observatory:

One Year in 40 Seconds

2008-12-30T11:42:00.000-08:00

So moving, so beautiful.