Saturday, August 30, 2014

Love Is Strange

I saw the film Love Is Strange today. It's about an older gay couple, played by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, who are forced to live apart after Molina's character loses his job at a Catholic school after he marries Lithgow and the school, etc. find out about it. With the loss of income, the couple is no longer able to stay in their Manhattan co-op and are forced to sell it and live apart while they try to find new accommodations. The film should have been titled How New York Real Estate (Nearly) Ruined My Life because that, to me, was the crux of the story. The characters here didn't make a killing when they sold their co-op either. After flip taxes and everything else, they ended up with less than $20,000, a paltry sum that's not nearly enough to put into play in the New York (i.e. Manhattan) real estate market. However, the two men could have found another place to live outside of Manhattan. What about renting in Inwood, Queens, or an unfashionable part of Brooklyn (like Kensington, where I lived)? These options were never explored because then the movie would have been over with in about half an hour.


The movie was sad and funny and the acting was great, but the whole real estate thing just hung over it like a rain cloud. New York real estate is so ridiculous, but also fascinating. The things that people are able to get away with regarding real estate in New York are unbelievable. Apartments that wouldn't even be deemed inhabitable anywhere else are legal and rented in New York. (Or even if they're not legal, they're still rented.) No stove? No problem. Get a hotplate and/or a microwave and go to town. Bathtub in the kitchen? That's a win-win. You can bathe and wash dishes at the same time. Multitasking! Dorm-sized fridge? Wonderful. Who needs to freeze food anyway? Yes, New York is great, but it's not so great when you don't have any money and are living in a room with a toilet, a sink, and a view of a brick wall. (Sounds like a prison; maybe it is.) (For the record, the picture below was my living room in Brooklyn and I didn't think it was a prison [despite the bars on the window by the fire escape]. I thought it was a nice place actually.)


Friday, August 29, 2014

Crazyville

People seem to be losing their shit more and more these days. I just read about two cases of people flipping out during flights over reclined seats. I suspect most people hate it when the person in front of them reclines his/her seat on a flight. It's annoying. However, is this something worth getting into a fight about? Is this something that the flight should be diverted to deal with? No and No. I do, however, think the device that prevents a person from reclining the seat in front of you is kind of ingenious. It's like those devices that block a person's cell phone connection. Sneaky, yet effective. But these devices can also cause trouble. Can't people find ways to solve problems that don't result on physical violence or diverted flights?

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Teacher Removed

I read this story today about a teacher who was removed from his job because he'd written two novels (under a pseudonym) that dealt with school shootings. Here's a link to read more about the story:




http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/english-teacher-under-investigation-for-writing-a-fiction-featuring-school-shootings_b89654




I find it bizarre that this man would be suspended from his job for fictional books that he wrote. What was the basis for his suspension? Is he a threat to students and/or faculty? Has he shown violent tendencies in the classroom in the past or had any kind of disciplinary action brought against him? I certainly hope this guy's union helps him to keep his job. So many things come back to bite us and it's a shame when your own fictional writing leads to something like this.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Huh?

Why did the Emmys suck last night? Because so many of the winners weren't that great. Why do these award show judges keep picking the same shows and the same stars over and over? There are a lot of new, interesting shows that aren't on network TV, but the Emmys must be run by network honchos because the non-network stuff just seems to get passed over. Does Jim Parsons really need another Emmy? Does Modern Family? I don't think so, but that's just my opinion. (I don't actually watch the Big Bang Theory or Modern Family.) Only one (well-deserved) award for True Detective? Huh? Emmy awards won't stop people from turning to cable or Netflix to watch shows that are innovative and willing to push the envelope. And, speaking of shows, when are Colbert and the Daily Show back on? They've been on vacation for nearly a month now. Grr!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Grow Up

As I've said in the past, I lurk on a few websites daily for celebrity gossip, etc. I also read many of the comments posted. Normally, I don't put a lot of stock in these comments. Some are funny, some are mean, some are offensive, and some don't make any sense to me at all, but I read one comment recently that really made me want to tell the writer to grow up. The writer, who posted that he was male, stated that he wanted to read gay-themed books, but not ones written by women.(He also didn't want to read any sci-fi, but I'm dealing with the gender issue.) Okay. I've heard this song before. Some gay men don't want to read gay romance (or any kind of gay-themed book) that's written by a woman. Some blacks don't want to read books about black people that are written by whites. Some women don't want to read books about women that are written by men. And the list goes on. To all of these folks, I would simply say, "Grow up!" I would never let the race or gender of an author dissuade me from reading a book. I'm interested in the story, not the author. Can women not write about men? Can men not write about women? Can blacks not write about blacks? These same people who have such rigid views about what they'll read are probably the first ones who would jump up and shout to the heavens if they were discriminated against because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. So how can they justify practicing that exact same discrimination against someone else?

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Writing Classes

I took a non-credit writing class a few years ago at NYU and largely enjoyed it. The class members were diverse in sex, age, and race (hey, our instructor was half Mexican!). The class provided me with a great opportunity to workshop my own writing, but also read the writing of others whose work was in progress. I keep flirting with the idea of taking a screenwriting class because I want to learn how to write a screenplay. I checked into an introductory screenwriting course at a local community college, but I was disappointed that the same woman was teaching every section of the class. Also, it didn't look like anyone had signed up for any of the four courses offered--a bad sign for a prospective student like myself. I wish writing classes had more diversity in terms of the instructors. Too often, I feel like the instructors for these workshop courses are basically the same: middle to upper class white women in their 30s who write literary fiction. No disrespect to these ladies, but is there a way to open the door and let a little more diversity into these writing courses? Can course administrators work a little harder to try and recruit more men, more people of color, and just more people who write in different genres? 

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Public Spaces

I'm not the kind of writer who can set up my laptop in a Starbucks and just write. I prefer to write in my own space rather than in a public space. However, I do, on occasion, go to the library to write because it seems to be quieter than a Starbucks or some other coffee house. So today I spent a few hours working on my current novel at the local public library and everything started out great. I found a nice cubicle to sit in by the window and I was good to go. Then, about an hour or so in, some woman sat on the other side of the cubicle wall from me. First, she was on her cell phone. She wasn't speaking in a loud voice, but still, it was annoying. Whatever. I had on headphones, so I was able to tune her out. Then, once she gets off the phone, she starts setting up her work station. I don't know what she had over there, but she seemed to having a hell of a time getting it all together. Okay. Whatever. Eventually, she settles down and starts writing or typing or something. Soon after that, the coughing starts. She coughed a lot. Perhaps she was or is a smoker. Maybe she had a cold. I don't know, but the she kept coughing and the joined cubicles shook every time she did. After about half an hour, I couldn't take it anymore, so I packed it in for the day. 


Public spaces are great when the public isn't annoying the hell out of you.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Profiled

One of my coworkers told me about an author who made an inappropriate comment about an editor with whom he'd worked in the past. The author, apparently, had some issues with his former editor and commented that she just needed to "get laid" because that would have solved all of her problems. Now you'd think that this was just a conversation between two dudes, but it wasn't! There was another editor present, a woman who'd replaced the editor the author was badmouthing. The woman was, rightly, offended by the author's statement. Now I wondered why an author would say be so crude, particularly in front of another woman.Then it occurred to me that the author said what he said in front of the woman because the woman has tattoos. I am confident he would not have said something so inappropriate in front of a woman who wasn't all tatted up. People often think that people, particularly women, with tattoos are down for whatever. Consider the common slang of calling a back tattoo a "tramp stamp." It's all related and it's unfair to stereotype and profile someone based on their body art. (For the record, I do not have any tattoos nor do I ever want any, but I feel that adults should do what they want to decorate their own bodies.)

Monday, August 11, 2014

Advise and Consent

I watched the 1960s film Advise and Consent over the weekend and enjoyed it once the story actually got cranked up and going. Watching a movie about trying to get a Secretary of State confirmed sounds like a snoozer (and parts of the film were snooze-worthy), but the backstory was interesting, particularly the story of the Brig, the senator from Utah who ended up getting blackmailed for his vote because he'd had a homosexual affair before he got married. Seeing Brig walk into a dark, smoky New York gay bar looking for the ex-lover who sold him out is both sad and ridiculous. Sinatra is playing on the jukebox, the bartender is filling glasses, and men are drinking and having a good time in the company of other men. It looks like a place where the boys are free to be who they are. But to the closeted Senator Brig, it's a hellhole. Disgusted and horrified, he runs from the bar only to be chased after by his former lover, Ray. Ray, buff and blond, like a 1960s Sam Champion, tries to explain to Brig that he only sold him out to the blackmailers because he needed money, but Brig doesn't want to hear it. He shoves his former lover in the gutter and hops a cab out of Queertown. Then he goes back to DC and kills himself. So much drama.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Learning to Swim

I regret never learning how to swim when I was younger and fearless. Swimming was offered at my high school, but I took dance instead. What a waste. I can still remember the awful routine my classmates and I did to the tune of "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. (To this day, I cannot stand to hear that song, partially because it was overplayed but mainly because of that stupid dance routine, but I digress.) I know it's still not too late to learn how to swim and I'm considering taking classes in the fall. I don't need to be the next Michael Phelps. I just need to know how to swim to shore in the event I'm thrown overboard or something.


In other news, I'm finally on track with my writing. I have been working on a new novel for months and I just couldn't seem to get focused, but now I have a conflict and the words are flowing pretty well for a change. I hope the momentum continues and that I can have it done before the end of the year.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

True Detective: Season 1 Over and Done

I finally watched the last two episodes of True Detective over the weekend and enjoyed them, but I was also a little let down. I had questions that weren't answered. (Who was the Yellow King? Who were the other guys in the video? Why did the last episode feel like an X-Files episode, particularly the one titled Home?) Despite my minor quibbles, I did enjoy the series and I liked that Woody and Matthew ended up alone (meaning no chicks) and had to rely on each other in the end. (Seeing Woody eating his frozen dinner in front of the television was especially satisfying.) I've read there are plagiarism charges being levied against the series creator now. That's unfortunate because a lot of the show's dialogue was really very smart and engaging. Anyway, on to the next season that, I hope, is as good as the first (but probably won't be).





Monday, August 4, 2014

The Qualms

I went to see The Qualms this past weekend at the Steppenwolf Theater and  I enjoyed the play. It centered around a recently married couple who agree to attend a swingers' party at the home of another couple they met previously in Cabo. The married couple had never participated in anything like this before and, lo and behold, chaos ensues! The dialogue was sharp and the playwright, Bruce Norris, does a great job of showing the angst of white, middle-class
Americans who aren't as liberal and progressive as they claim to be. He dealt with this also in his Tony-award winning play Clybourne Park (that I also saw and enjoyed).


Saturday, August 2, 2014

Pugnacious!

I had an encounter with an aggressive pug this morning while I was on my way to the Y. I was walking down the street minding my own business when I came upon a woman and her two small dogs. She was sitting on the ground outside of an apartment/condo building and she had a small light colored dog on her arms. The other dog, a black pug, was on the other side of the sidewalk away from her. The pug had a leash around its neck, but no one had control of it. The leash was just dragging behind the dog. As I proceeded to pass the woman and the dogs, the pug came after me, growling and barking. I kept walking and the pug followed. The woman called to him, but he ignored her. Finally, I stopped and told the woman to get her dog and finally she got off her ass and moved to get the pug. Now if that dog had attacked me, he would have gotten a swift kick to the face and, if he had bitten me, I would have sued that woman. Team Kim was ready to step up and take care of business had this situation escalated. Thankfully it didn't and the pug retreated.

I like dogs and one day when I stop living in apartments, I plan to have my own, preferably a beagle. Part of being a responsible dog owner means controlling your pet. The woman I dealt with this morning never should have allowed her dog to roam free. She should have maintained control of the pug's leash at all times while he was outside in a public area like that.