You Don't Own Me (Ep. 27 - First Wives Club)

September 24, 2015 Matthew Baume

What's your hidden superpower? My guest Brady Ginn always thought of himself as a mild-mannered mortal. Shy, vulnerable, lousy at sports and eternally closeted. But that all started to change when he discovered that he possessed a well of power that he'd never known about before. And it's all thanks to Dianne Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn.

For my recommendation this week, look up the short story The Truth of Names, by James Wyatt. The story serves as a backstory for Alesha, a character from Magic the Gathering, but even if you don't play card games, the story is a marvelous piece of fantasy writing all on its own.

Alesha was born in a body and a gender that wasn't quite right. For a long time, only she knew about the secret potential hidden deep within. And it terrified her. Here was a girl capable of killing dragons, but declaring her identity -- her TRUE identity -- threw her into a panic.

The story traces her journey through battles with monsters, with fellow warriors, and with herself. Ultimately she's able to summon her courage and follow her heart, in a scene that, even if you're not a fantasy nerd, will give you goosebumps.

And what she finds is that following her heart blazes a path for warriors eager to follow her.

Music:
Parisian Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Giving Yourself a Crash Course in Gay (Ep. 26 - Cinephiles)

September 17, 2015 Matthew Baume

Alonso Duralde (photo: Gabriel Goldberg)

Last week I spoke with Dave White, one half of the movie-reviewing team Linoleum Knife. This week, I'm joined by Dave's partner and husband, Alonso Duralde, who lives film every moment of his life.

Alonso just returned from the Venice Film Festival, because wherever there's an intriguing image projected on a giant screen in a darkened room, Alonso is there. That affinity for film dates back to his early childhood, when he was part of a brood of seven kids. Despite the chaos of growing up in such a large family, his parents always made time to settle in for a good classic film. As a kid, movies were how he connected with family and friends. As student, movies showed him what gay life could be. And as an adult, it was movie theaters that brought him closer to the man he loved.

Alonso made about two dozen movie references in our conversation, so hopefully you've got a full list of movies to watch for the next few weeks. But just in case you need more, I highly recommend his two books, 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men and Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.

I first discovered Alonso's work about a decade ago, when he gave a presentation on 101 Must-See Movies at Frameline, San Francisco's LGBT film fest. Over the course of an hour and a half, he raced through over a hundred incredible films with a zeal for the art form that bordered on religious. Some I'd heard of, many were new to me, and there is not a single title among them that you can afford to miss.

His second book, Have YourSelf a Movie Little Christmas, is similarly invaluable, particularly at this time of year. Now is the time to start planning which holiday films you'll gorge on this year, and this book will serve as a helpful little elf to guide you through your options.

What makes both books so wonderful is their incredible diversity, from Funny Girl to Opposite of Sex to Showgirls to Gods and Monsters. Each movie is an entirely fresh window into the queer experience -- a buffet of possibilities, a homosexual cabaret.

And while you're at it, don't forget to pick up a copy of Exile in Guyville, Dave White's book about how he picked up his life and moved to West Hollywood with Alonso years ago. What started out as a series of funny emails to family and friends became a blog, then a monthly article, and then finally a book about Dave's exploration of his new life with Alonso on the West Coast. Alonso's books contain windows into gay worlds; Dave's is a window into those windows.

Subscribe to Linoleum Knife here.

Music:
Parisian Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Terrifying and yet Intriguing (Ep. 25 - Punk Rock)

September 10, 2015 Matthew Baume

Where's the line between dangerous and safe, and when is it time to cross it?

My guest this week is Dave White, one half of the fantastic Linoleum Knife team. You need to go subscribe to the podcast of the cinema that Dave does with his husband Alonso -- Linoleum Knife is a show that's as much about their love for movies as their lives together.

When young Dave's family fell into disarray, he discovered that the church could provide some much-needed structure. It was a refuge for him -- but as much as it kept the chaos out, religion also kept Dave in. He knew he was missing something, but wasn't sure what it was until that something called to him unexpectedly late one Saturday night. Punk rock had found him, offering him tempting, terrifying freedom. Answering the call would mean leaving the safety that he had counted on behind.

Music:
Parisian Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Cecil B. DeMille of Porn (Ep. 24 - Batman & Chi Chi LaRue)

September 3, 2015 Matthew Baume

How do you kick start your creativity? That's always been a challenge for my guest this week, Michael Strangeways, editor of the site Seattle Gay Scene. Growing up in the town graveyard, he bounced around creatively from acting to writing to selling porn, all the while searching for his muse.

It was only after quite a few years, frequent relocation from city to city, and deft avoidance of a scary clown that he finally found some creative fullness, by peeking into the personal life of Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon.

As we discussed in this episode, check out how great Eartha Kitt is as Catwoman:

And Dark Shadows! That song!

And here's the trailer for my recommendation at the end of this week's episode, Adults Only:

Music:
Parisian Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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