During the day today I changed the CD in my car from Devo's "Total Devo" to Kate Bush's "The Whole Story" and the CD in my house (in the living room where I write) from Lasse Englund's "Anchor" to Elton John's "Blue Moves."

I didn't have to work today, so I stayed up until 6am and woke up at 3 in the afternoon. My body likes to do this to me. If it knows I don't have to get up early, it will refuse to go to sleep at a decent hour. Then, once I fall asleep, even if I set an alarm, it will insist on sleeping nine hours. Oh, I'll wake up with the alarm, but I'll just reset it for an hour or two later. Unless I have specific plans, or work, I'll just sleep all Goddamn day.

When I finally did drag my ass out of bed, I checked my cellie, which I had left on vibrate from seeing movies the night before and Johnny Oh! had called. Johnny had activities scheduled for the night before, including hanging out with this group of young nudist called YANG (Young Austin Nude Gays or something like that). I can't join because I am over 40 and am fat. Their website is all about how you have to be fit to join. And even though they say it isn't a sex club, you have to send a picture to get an invitation to the group. What a bunch of horseshit.

Anyway, John and I agreed to meet at Culver's at 6pm and have dinner, synchronize our schedules for the rest of the week, and go see "Dorian Blues" at 7pm. I showered at about 5, shaved, and got in my car. I put in Kate Bush. For some reason I've been thinking about the song "Running Up That Hill" a lot yesterday. I got to the Arbor pretty quickly. I wanted to pick up tickets early just in case it was "sold out" like the night before. The guy manning the ticket table, a cute, chubby Asian guy, was quick and efficient and made getting tickets a breeze. I also picked up some flyers for some of the films at the festival. Never know when one of these films or directors is going to blow up and you'll have a collectors' item. My whole retirement is wrapped up in movie memorabilia that I am going to sell on E- bay.

I drove to Culver's, which is about 6 or 7 minutes away. I was early and Johnny had talked about bringing a 2 for 1 coupon, so I decided to order a milkshake while I waited for him. I had brought this schedule that I had gotten to New Fest, the NYC gay and lesbian festival, which was held in June of this year. I don't know for sure how I got on their mailing list but, none the less, I get e-mails and other things from them. Anyway, I counted over 20 features from New Fest that are playing at Agliff this year. Their opening film was "Loggerheads" which I am going to see on Wednesday. Their closing film was "Summer Storm" which I saw last night. I also remembered that Agliff used to schedule some of their films to run two times during the fest when it was 11 days. That isn't happening this year. If you miss it, tough luck.

John arrived and we ate and talked about this and that. Since I am media and have a free pass to the fest, thanks to the new leaders at Agliff, I am allowed to get tickets to the films using a system where I have "tokens," which are imaginary passes that the ticket sellers can use to ring up tickets to the film for me. I guess their called "Tokens" because gay men used to use tokens, and probably still do, in the glory hole infested jack-off private booths in adult book stores. I think this is tacky. For some reason during dinner Johnny used the word "indulgence" and I thought - what a great name for Agliff to use instead of "Tokens:" "Indulgences."

We decided to drive over to the Arbor separately since John was going to see "Made in Secret" at 9pm and I wasn't. I got in my car and it was 6:43. I didn't realize we were that far behind schedule. We hightailed it over to the Arbor and I went inside to the badge line and Johnny stayed outside in the "Non Members" line. What's the point of having a gay film festival if you can't separate the high-dollar supporters and the media whores from the "common people?" Anyway, there was a small line inside and while I was looking out the door I saw the hottie Arbor employee and my favorite object of gay lust Brooks walking by in his street clothes. I saw him for a millisecond by my Gay-die senses went into over load and I practically knocked down two lesbians getting outside to see if I could see him. He was dressed so cute. I looked down the "Non Members" line and saw John and who was right behind him? Oh yes. It was Brooks. I nearly fainted from the rush of blood from my brain to other parts of my anatomy.

Brooks was on his cellie talking to God knows who. I heard him tell whoever it was that he told his mom he had to work until 9pm. John and I made small talk while I practically tingled with anticipation and lust. There was something about the film starting late - at 7:12 supposedly of all times, but I wasn't really paying attention to that. Brooks was right behind us! When he finally got off his phone I said something like, "Well, if it isn't my favorite Arbor employee right here behind you in line, John." Thus began a 10 to 15 minute conversation where I found out a lot about Brooks. He is going to quit the Arbor and work at a restaurant in a month when he turns 18. He is going to go to college next year in California. (Johnny lived in CA for a few years in the 80's, so this gave us a little more to talk about as a group. Brooks wants to study PolySci. We talked a lot about movies too, "Mysterious Skin" (which Brooks hated - I still love him), "The Constant Gardener," "City of God" (which Brooks loved and I hated -I still love him).

I checked on the line inside a couple times and it was still small (unlike other parts of my anatomy when I was around Brooks) so I waited outside with the guys and talked to the cutest boy I know and Johnny for as long as I could. When we went in I told Brooks he could sit with us if he wanted but I like to sit towards the front and he said something to the effect of, "Fuck that" and then promptly disappeared like a piece of glitter in the wind. Sigh.

Bruce told us that a second screening of "Summer Storm" was going to run on Friday night at 11pm, so I urge anyone who missed it to check it out. It's running opposite "Hellbent," which I saw a trailer for before this film, along with a preview for "The Favor" a Spanish flick about two lesbians trying to get this guy to impregnate one of them. (It looked silly and typical). "Hellbent" is a gay slasher flick and it looks sick and disgusting and vile and repulsive and I cannot wait to see it and write a scathing review. But you should skip it and see "Summer Storm" if you haven't already.

The feature was preceded by two shorts, one great and one so-so. The good one was called "Spaceboy" and it was a teenage boy who, while masturbating in a field by his house, discovers a downed NASA space capsule and the hunky astronaut who was flying in it. The boy take the man who to spend the night and the mother finds what she thinks is a wedding ring in the astronauts uniform when she washes it. But, this is a gay short and it ends happily with the boy giving the ring to the astronaut, finding out it is a part of the spacecraft and then getting a sexy kiss. In the morning, when the astronaut leaves in a helicopter, the boy watches from his window near his bed and when he pulls back the covers, we see he is wearing a pair of briefs with the NASA insignia on them. Cute, well filmed, and charming, this is a great short.

"9:30," meanwhile, is a overly long and indecipherable short about an Asian man who is in L.A. He doesn't change the time on his watch, he calls home on a phone card and meets up with a German immigrant named Klaus who takes him to a burger joint. I didn't get the gay angle to this film. But, I didn't get anything about this film. It may have been filmed well and well constructed but it was nonsensical as far as I was concerned.

When "Dorian Blues" started, I noticed the guy behind me had his shoes off and his feet sticking between the seats one chair down from me. Uck. People are getting so out of hand at movies. HELLO. DUMBASSES. IT'S A MOVIE THEATER NOT YOUR LIVING ROOM. Jesus.

After the film, I went to the ticketing center and got my tickets for the rest of the festival and then talked to Johnny for a little bit before he went to his movie and I went home. John promised to write up a little short review of "Made in Private" for me. I went home, wrote, did laundry, dyed my hair, cleaned my apartment, got some Chinese food, and wrote some more. I am only working a half-day tomorrow in the Afternoon, thank goodness.

Don't give away the bitter!

lodger2005