Grant Me Serenity

Last night was the screening of Serenity. Unlike Ethan, I had absolutely no problems getting in or waiting in line, despite the extraordinarily long line they had for people with passes... and for free, no less. I could get used to this kind of treatment. Another thing I just can't get out of my head and figured I'd take care of first - if you squint, you'd just about swear that Nathan Fillion, who plays the main character, Mal, is actually Charlie Sheen, except that Denise Richards was nowhere to be found.

Ok, on to the movie proper. As RJ mentioned in his comments, Serenity is based on the short-lived TV series, Firefly- created by Buffy & Angel creator, Joss Whedon. I haven't seen the show, so I was going into a packed theater full of true believers. In my opinion, that is a difficult position for a film maker - how do you walk the line between keeping the true believers happy and bringing in new viewers without having them feel lost or lecturing them on what's gone before? A good example is the original X-Men -- they spent a lot of time trying to explain what was going on, which made the movie drag.

Fortunately, Joss Whedon proves that his reputation as a writing/directing wunderkind is entirely appropriate. Whedon was able to tell the story in a way that educated you about what was going on but was appropriate for the story. Further, it was clear that these characters had a past that I wasn't filled on, but it only served to give them depth, rather than leaving me feel lost or left out. Overall, Whedon was able to avoid the pitfalls of bringing something from the small screen to the big screen and managed to do it in an artful way.

Aside from those potential problems, Serenity was very much in-line with my previous Whedon encounters: the plot was very interesting and engaging, the script and dialogue were extremely well written, there was a healty injection of humor in the appropriate spots, everything was uniformly well acted, the special effects were good but weren't the focus of the movie. I didn't really see any particularly weak areas. Rather, all the pieces fit together into an excellent film. I would pay full price to watch this movie, I'll probably buy it when it comes out on DVD. I've put Firefly into my NetFlix queue.

Overall, if you have any affinity for a high quality Sci-Fi movie, I would be quite surprised if you didn't love this movie. I hope Serenity does well because Whedon pulled off quite a feat. I'm looking forward to seeing much more from him in the future.

Hope for AZ?

I'm an Arizona native, so I don't really have too many illusions about the place. Certainly, we have a pretty long tradition of being a very conservative, Republican state. So, when the drive to put a gay marriage ban in the state constitution started, I'll admit that I figured it would be a shoo-in. After all, this is a place that elected J.D. Hayworth to Congress.

Even after all these years, though, Arizona may wind up surprising me -- a recent poll shows that 60% of voters oppose the ban. Color me shocked. Now, I don't by any stretch of the imagination believe that the battle is won. Rather, I think there's going to be a long fight, but at least now I think we've got a decent chance.

Check out AZTogether.org and their efforts to defeat the initiative.

Three

Ok, I decided to accept the challenge of an open tag at Ethan's blog to come up with 3 things that most people won't know about me. I think I can come up with some interesting little tidbits.

1) I came out to my first straight person on Valentine's Day, 2000... it was my friend, Amy, and I was taking her to a Phoenix Coyotes hockey game.

2) The last time I kissed a girl (woman) was my 3rd year in law school... 1997. The only other time was back in junior high.

3) As a little kid, my favorite cartoon was Mighty Mouse.

Ok, now that I've bared my soul, its time to pass this on: Paul, Adam,, and RJ -- tag, you're it!

Serenity

After reading Ethan's blog this weekend, I signed up for a screening for the movie, Serenity. I love good Sci-Fi and they've basically invited bloggers to sign up for an advance screening before the movie opens. Seems like a great grass-roots marketing effort, in my opinion. I confess, I didn't really know anything about the movie before I signed up, but here's the synopsis:

Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

I am pretty much sold on hearing Joss Whedon's name on the project. Having watched both Buffy and Angel, I think the man is brilliant. The writing should be top-notch and quite creative. There don't appear to be any real stars in the cast - I recognize a few of the actors -- the hunky Adam Baldwin (right) has been in quite a few things over the years, I remember Alan Tudyk from Dodgeball, where he played Pirate Steve (Arrrrrrrrrr! LIKES!) . In addition, Gina Torres also played Jasmine in the second-to-last season of Angel. While there isn't anyone with real star power, I trust Whedon's eye for talent after his success with Buffy and Angel.

Aside from that, I really don't know what to expect. I guess going into it without any expectations is a good thing. The screening is Wednesday night. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it goes.

Wedding Bells...

Tonight was the season premiere of Charmed, which I have been eagerly awaiting for quite some time. I must say, my expectations have definitely been fulfilled. First off, the episode kicked major ass. Looks like this season is gonna be great.

If you haven't already seen the premiere, I'm gonna give you a little spoiler... Phoebe meets her future husband, and he turns out to be the INCREDIBLY-MEGAHUNKY Jason Lewis. OH MY F***ING GOD. Wow.

Not only is the man just impossibly beautiful, but Phoebe has a premonition where she literally has wedding bells and sees him twirling her around in her wedding dress. Such an incredibly happy moment, especially when you've been following her character over the years...(Note to the Universe: I want a moment like that too with a super sweet, hunky guy like Jason Lewis! Sooner rather than later would be nice!)

Ah, I am SO looking forward to what is to come!

On Sale...

You know, Phoenix has a reputation for being a town full of bottoms. Personally, that works just fine for me, but I've known many people who will complain bitterly about it. Apparently, they just didn't know where to look...

Suggestions anyone?

I've seen this in my office for the past several months... Finally, I just couldn't help myself, I had to immortalize it before my project finally ends. Anyone have any ideas for the box?

Bloggiversary...

Happy Bloggiversary to me... happy bloggiversary to me...

Battle On, Xena!

This month marks the 10th Anniversary of the first appearance of Xena, Warrior Princess. Although I'm gay as can be, I just can't deny that Xena kicked some major ass. From the campy humor, simmering lesbian subtext to all the hunky extras clad in leather, this show was a classic. I guess one of the things I loved about the show, aside from the hunky guys clad in leather, was that it was able to walk a line between not taking itself too seriously and still being able to tackle serious things.

Add to it that Aries, the God of War, was HOT HOT HOT - an aside: there was an episode of Hercules where Aries switched places with Cupid and became the God of Love... clad in white satin and sequins... FAB-U-LOUS! - long story short, this was a show definitely worth watching. Unfortunately, now its been exiled to the Oxygen network. *sigh* Xena deserves better.

Weekend Update

As you guys probably surmised from my last couple of posts, I am feeling much better. Here's the scoop - Friday evening I went over to Adam's for MovieLawn. Essentially, Adam invited a bunch of us over to grill dinner and watch Barbarella outside with the projector that he just bought. None rest of the crowd had seen Barbarella before, so they didn't have any idea what they were in for. Its hard to believe that this movie was actually made - it is so corny that I can hardly believe it. In the grand scheme of things, put it together with a couple of beers, MovieLawn left me in a very light, playful mood.

I made a conscious effort to try to carry that mood to the music Friday night. I think that's exactly what I needed. I guess part of the lesson I've needed to learn is to lighten up and try to be playful and have fun with things even though I'm still working hard. Long story short, both nights went well. The club was busy, seemed to like the music I played, and the owner was happy. I think I found a decent balance between my tastes and what the crowd wanted to hear.

In the end, it was a rough week, but an important one. Sometimes life works that way -- we need those rough spots from time to time in order to learn and grow. Nobody said growth would be easy, but its worth it.

Too much is not enough...

B&W Hunk 2005
Originally uploaded by mikefl99.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that one beefshot isn't going to cut it. We're gonna have to double dip. I figure, any of you guys who are still reading me and had to put up with last week's insanity deserve a medal or something... I don't have any medals to give out, but I can find pics of hot guys. Yes, I'm feeling much better, can you tell?

Back to Basics

Hairy Stud 9023
Originally uploaded by mikefl99.

I realized that its been far too long since I've had a pointless post about some half-naked stud. That just ain't right. Shows how out of my head I've been lately. So, I figured I would get back to basics and find a pic of some hot beef. Here it is. I briefly considered putting up a pic of Ethan, but that just felt creepy. Hope you guys enjoy!

Survivor...

Ok, so I had a rough weekend and things haven't been going quite the way I've planned. Nonetheless, being the grumpy little thing I've been the past few days isn't going to solve anything. Leave it to a little Destiny's Child to set me back on the right path:

I'm a survivor
I'm not gonna give up
I'm not gonna stop
I'm gonna work harder
I'm a survivor
I'm gonna make it
I will survive
And keep on survivin'...

I'm a survivor
I'm not gonna give up
I'm not gonna stop
I'm gonna work harder
I'm a survivor
I'm gonna make it
I will survive
And keep on survivin'...

I guess I know what song I'm gonna play first on Friday night...

Another blow...

Well, I had been kinda down after this weekend, but with everything going on I was planning to head down to Tucson on the 17th because Brett Henrichsen was going to be spinning down there. In addition to being a great DJ, Brett is also one of the sweetest people I've had the opportunity to meet (not to mention his devistatingly beautiful blue eyes) and I was looking forward to talk with him for a bit, especially because I haven't gotten to see him in about a year. Unfortunately, they cancelled the event, which was to be held at the Tucson Convention Center, because they will be using the TCC to house survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Without question, this is the right thing - helping those who were impacted by the Katrina is much more important, and I am going to donate the money I was spending on my hotel on the relief effort. At the same time, I am incredibly disappointed. This is the 4th time in the past year I had hoped to go see Brett and the 4th time life has intervened.

THIS JUST PLAIN SUCKS.

Challenging Weekend...

Unfortunately, I didn't have the kind of weekend I would have hoped for music-wise. After my performance last Saturday, I thought that I had gotten the basics down and could move forward from there. Didn't quite work out that way -- I went from a night where I was "on" and everything felt right to a couple of nights where I was very inconsistent. I think a big chunk of it came down with being too concerned with some of the more technical aspects and not having a clearer picture of where I wanted to go musically. A big part of that is because its a different club with a different crowd than what I've been used to. So, most of my experience of how a set should flow can basically go out the window.

Of course, when your evening isn't going quite as well as you'd have hoped, everyone and their mother has suggestions on what you should play... including the guy who gives you your paycheck. Now, I think a DJ has to walk a line between playing to the crowd and paying what he/she needs to play. Personally, I'd like to be able to play a request or two, and at the same time, I'm not a jukebox. At the other end of the spectrum, I don't want to play songs just because they're popular. This past weekend I felt like I was trying to please people because I didn't have a clear idea of what else I was trying to do. That spells big problems.

This brings me back to a basic question - why am I doing this? If I'm just up there to play what everybody wants to hear, then is it really worth the effort? At the end of the day, I know there has to be a way to be true to myself and convey that in a way that people can understand and enjoy. I guess I'm still searching for that.

The Best of Humanity...

In the midst of all the destruction and suffering that's going on right now with everything that's going on with Katrina, its easy to get lost in the enormity of it all. With stories flooding the media of despair and darkness, sometimes I wonder how something like this could possibly make sense - and then, amid the pain of so many, things seemingly get even worse. And while it pains me to see some react to this crisis in greed, anger or judgment, I think that for the most of us, we have an opportunity... an opportunity to reach deep into our hearts and find the very best of what makes us who human - compassion, love, charity, kindness, gratitude and hope.

While my heart is breaking with the memory of those who have lost their lives in this tragedy and the pain of those left behind, I cannot help but understand that they have given us a tremendous gift - the chance to remember who we truly are and who we can be. I can only hope that in this moment and the long, slow healing to come that our thoughts, prayers, donations, and our overall compassion towards one another can serve as adequate tribute for all those who have given us so a precious gift.

"May angels lead you in,
Hear you me, my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go,
May angels lead you in..."

Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World