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B2K - NAKED!
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Hello and Welcome
Every now and then, I update the banner at the top of the page. It makes it look like something is happening around here.
The new banner is thoroughly and unashamedly camp. It combines two overriding passions - sex and Daleks.
Those two words rarely feature in the same sentence, but thanks to the ka-os blog, these disparate subjects have united, and the Daleks have discovered CocoDorm. Now, there's a movie that needs to be made. Don't forget kids, after Davros, the top Dalek is the black Dalek.
Let me just leave that one alone.
As it happens, my three miniature Daleks will be discovering a lot in the future. They're going to be my ambassadors, photographed amongst, against and up on various disparate subjects. You'll see them at the top of this page juxtasposed against everything and anything.
The initial shoots have been in and about the yard; but I'll be taking the Terrible Three out and about in London for raw, hardcore sessions. If you've got ideas or requests, comment here, and I'll try and do it.
It should be fun.
(Oh, and it's ka-os|theory now, not the ka-os blog. We're "re-branding" [fuckeries et cetera] Please amend your links, kids. Ta).
A Moment With T.I.
Ordinarily, I like my men with more meat on the bone, but hell, T.I. would make a tasty lunchtime snack, or the meat in a sandwich.
So let us now look at Module 2.2: Reasons To Like T.I.
1). His film ATL is excellent. It's not a tedious gangsta thug cliché, it's a breath of fresh air. Young little gay boys the length and breadth of the States will be wishing T.I. was their big brother.
2). His voice. Never let us underestimate the power of voice. Even Servalan realised that when she was making a synthesised electronic dream version of Blake. T.I. has the kind of voice, accented by a sexually enticing drawl, that could make old J.R. give up women.
3). His cap. He wears it oh so precariously. Will it fall off? How does it stay there like that? It's a mystery.
4). He shows his pubes. OMG Blog told us so. "OMG, his pubes!" was their headline. Let it be known as a matter of policy that the ka-os blog advocates the display of pubes at any opportunity (except for redheads; that's just wrong. Unless it's that pornographically beautiful boy out of Desperate Housewives, who bears a striking resemblance to the bottom slut out of Oz - y'know, the one who got converted to Christianity by Matt Dillon, who he then bricked up in a wall).
5). His song Why You Wanna? It's a question we can apply to many situations in life. And the video is monochrome too.
6). He is from Atlanta, which manufactures large quantities of too too hot men. It's a scientific fact that global warming can be attributed to the heat coming off Atlanta-bred men.
7). He's made babies with a gurl out of Xscape, a 90s R&B group. Okay, she's female, but it's a 90s R&B group, still.
8). He does charitable work, from Hurricane Katrina relief work to helping the youf. So even though he's a bad boy he's still a good boy, really.
9). Finally, unlike über twat Ne-Yo, who felt it necessary to get high and mighty about Chris Brown/Rihanna, T.I. just said, "I've been blessed and fortunate enough to spend time around them and Rihanna is outstanding. She's the sweetest girl... Chris, he's a great guy. I can't speak on the event that took place. I don't know the details... It's not my business, but I know through all adversity comes strength and everyone goes through things for a reason."
So there you have it - 9 reasons to like T.I. Can you think of a tenth?
Elsewhere - OMG, his pubes: T.I.
The Fourth Plinth: You
The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square will next be occupied not by a piece of sculpture, but by a truly unique piece of contemporary art: you.
Yes, dear reader, you.
The Fourth Plinth was built in 1841. Originally intended for an equestrian statue, it was empty for many years and is now the location for specially commissioned art.
The current incumbent is Thomas Schütte's sculpture "Model for a Hotel 2007" (right), an architectural model of a twenty-one storey building, constructed in specially engineered red, yellow and blue glass weighing over 8 tonnes.
When that is removed in the summer, it will be replaced by a living monument by sculptor Antony Gormley. He invites you to occupy the Fourth Plinth, an image of yourself, and a "representation of the whole of humanity".
You'll enjoy a full hour of public attention from your position on high, during which you can do absolutely anything (as long as it's legal). Orate. Dance. Get naked. The artist himself says, "I will be very upset if somebody doesn't take off their clothes when they get there."
So will I. Working near the Square means I'm going see a lot of what goes on. And with 2,400 people taking part in the project over 100 days, there's bound to be plenty of interesting, sexy, fun and controversial episodes.
The application process is open to anyone over 16, and who is resident in the UK for the duration of the project.
Elsewhere - Antony Gormley wants you for the fourth plinth
Elsewhere - One & Other
Elsewhere - Fourth Plinth
Wendy Richard Is Dead
Richard (pictured above, left, with Molly Sugden) is best known for her role as Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, and as Miss Brahms in 70s sitcom Are You Being Served?
I grew up watching both characters, laughing at the antics of Miss Brahms in Grace Bros department store, and smiling wryly at grim Pauline. Everyone knows a Pauline - and if you don't, thank your lucky stars. Thank you Mrs Richard. You were loved.
View all Obituaries.
Previously - John Inman, "Mr Humphries", Has Died
Elsewhere - Tribute To Wendy Richard Lasting Tribute
I Dream In Black and White, I Wanna Make Love In Colour
SINCE WHEN DOES who you sleep with make you racist? The answer to that old chestnut is always. If you're white and you only sleep with white guys you're racist. If you're white and you only sleep with Asian guys you're a rice queen. If you're white and you sleep with anyone, regardless of race, you're some colonial queen sampling the Empire's delicacies. Oh, and it works both ways. Those same Asian guys who like it white are labelled snow queens, as are black guys who prefer white guys. And they're hated by other black guys, for whom it is a huge sell-out and the ultimate betrayal of the race. Black guys more than anyone else, because although there's all kinds of racial permutations, none is more controversial than the point where the black/white tectonic plates meet. Metroboi wrote on his blog Lifes Like... last week about a conversation with a friend of his:
"Ok. So I was talking to a friend of mine today (well for most of the day) about life etc etc. And we came to the subject of sexual relations. Oh by the way, he's white and incase you didn't know (or you're colour blind) I'm black. I asked him if he's ever slept with a black man. He said yes, he's slept with many cultures before. Good on him! He then proceeded to ask me if I've slept with white guys. I said yes. In fact, I say I've only ever slept with white guys. Bare with me on this one. My friend then asked me why, and the honest straight forward answer, is because I don't find many black men attractive. I just haven't got a physical preference to all black men. Someway, somehow, my friend decided that I was racist. I laughed at the comment and carried on chatting, but it has kind of disturbed me a bit and got me a little angry. It's not the first time I've heard someone say it to me either. In fact some people have said to me that I'm not racist, I'm hypocritical and not proud of my heritage. Now, I am very proud of my heritage, but sleeping or going out with someone of my colour, does not define me as a person. I do not need to sleep with someone of my colour to prove that pride or to prove myself to anyone. I guess I'm just writing this to get my anger out and to say how much it annoyed me once I had realised what he had said. So, do my thoughts make me a racist? A hypocrite? A bounty? Am I not proud of my heritage and culture? Is it not just down to personal preference and personal observations?? And is the fact that I find the look of black skin against white skin oh so sexy a bad thing??!!!!"Now let me digress for a quick minute on a technicality - the mistake Metroboi made in articulating his feelings, and it's a mistake most people make when discussing this subject, black or white - is saying that whilst he finds white guys attractive, he doesn't find black guys attractive. Statements like that are defensive rather than purely factual. What he actually means to say is that he's sexually attracted to white guys, and generally not sexually attracted to black guys. I can say that with some authority since Metroboi and I once sat drooling over T.I. as he bounced around a stage with his shirt off. The core issue Metroboi is raising, however, is one of personal preference, and the unwelcome judgements of others on that choice. When discussing this issue, I always refer to a story related to me by another outspoken black youth; let's call him Ziggy. He also has a preference for white men, something a militant clique of black youths who frequent Heaven took exception to. They call themselves the Pretty Boi Cru, and style themselves (supposedly) upon the gangsta hip-hop scene. The effect is more CocoDorm than Tupac Shakur (which isn't a bad thing by any means). According to Ziggy, the Pretty Boi Cru take it upon themselves to bully, threaten, intimidate - and even physically assault - any fresh meat who ventured onto the black gay scene and align themselves to white men in any shape or form. I saw hints of this myself in Heaven when I went there, and Ziggy's account didn't surprise me. I can't comment on the white gay scene, but I imagine there's a similar sort of peer pressure amongst them too. The racial divide - or rather, yawning chasm - is arguably more pronounced amongst gay men, perhaps more than in any other group. Is it because gay men are constantly striving for identity? Is it more superficial than that, more about a rigid set of values underpinned by race? It's ironic really - as gay men we constantly reiterate the mantra "Who I sleep with is no one's business but my own" - yet when it comes to race, it's everyone's business, and it's always a judgement. Elsewhere - Apparently I'm Racist
Dancing With The Devil
The phrase 'Dancing with the Devil' evokes images of fiery rituals where witches and demons cavort under the cold moonlight. But that’s science fiction. That’s the sort of craziness that led to innocent people being burned at the stake. In real life, however, the expression does mean cavorting with dark forces - just ones inside our own heads. Centered around a single protagonist, from Breeding Season where we spy a high school crush gone wild, through Beneath Paradise where sex and salvation’s all-out war leaves a young friendship on the battlefield, to the cautionary tales Pretty Young Gangsters, Dancing With The Devil and When Romeo Wakes, each of which peep into the darkest part of obsession’s needy heart. This collection of stories deal with those sometimes sexy, sometimes darkly disturbing moments when our inner Devils come out and dance.Elsewhere - SGLcafé.com Elsewhere - CHUMA SPIRIT eBooks View all articles in Books.
...out of time
London in 1.01 minutes.
Yes. This really is London.
(The ad misses the part where he steps off at Waterloo for a quickie in Pleasuredrome, alights at Clapham Common for some cruising and finally visits me in Ealing for some lurrvvve in the afternoon. But hell, the ad's only a minute, so guess they couldn't squeeze in everything, huh?)
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MAYBE I'VE BEEN watching too much Miami Ink, but this could be one of the sexiest pictures I've ever seen (above).
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EastEnders "All Black" Cast
Bramadero
Previously - 23rd London Lesbian And Gay Film Festival
Elsewhere - Bramadero (Official Blog)
The Young & Evil
Writer-Director Julian Breece makes a striking debut with The Young & Evil, a dramatic short about a defiantly promiscuous young man who finds eros in self-destruction. Referencing the controversial 1930s novel of the same title, The Young & Evil provides a chilling lens into how homophobia, faithlessness and longing miscolor the need for human connection.
Shot in South Central Los Angeles by veteran cinematographer Carl Bartels, The Young & Evil presents a unique and stylish vision. Pulsing with atmosphere, the film undulates between urban grit and haunting metaphor. With Breece's protagonist as our guide, we're ushered into a labyrinthine world of shadows, where touch equals salvation.
Previously - 23rd London Lesbian And Gay Film Festival
Elsewhere - myspace.com/theyoungandevil
23rd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
The 23rd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival opens on 25th March and wraps on the 8th April.
Here's what I plan on seeing (or what I hope to see). Text quoted from the BFI's own listings. BABY LOVE (France) Two men, one wants a baby, the other doesn't, a delicious comedy of contemporary manners. BURN THE BRIDGES (Mexico) Siblings Helena and Sebastián live in a crumbling colonial villa with their dying mother, a former pop star, in central Mexico. Their symbiotic relationship is ruptured when Sebastián meets troubled Juan, a tough new student from the coast who awakens a sense of danger, desire, and possibility in him. ANDER (Spain) Aging Basque countryman Ander virulently resists his growing attraction for José, his trusted employee and friend. BANDAGED (Germany) Lucille lives with her domineering father and grandmother in a creepy mansion out in the middle of nowhere. Old-style horror blends with forbidden love as Lucille falls madly in love with the nurse tasked to care for her. DEVOTEE (France) Hervé is a 43-year-old man born without arms or legs, whose body marks him as an outsider to the men he desires. He meets an attractive man online who is a devotee (devoteeism or acrotomophilia) - sexually attracted to people with amputations. It could be the perfect match but is the true connection Hervé seeks possible with a person whom he knows only sees him as a fetish? FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU (Ireland) Filmmaker Neasa Ní Chianáin takes up the invitation of out gay, Irish poet Cathal O Searcaigh to visit him on his annual trip from the west of Ireland to Kathmandu. What begins as a privileged portrait of a respected neighbour and friend takes on a different resonance when Neasa begins to suspect that the poet's charitable gifts to young students are not wholly altruistic. After more than fifteen years the poet is now a well-known figure and has a large circle including a married adopted godson. None of the boys are under the legal age of consent but using money to seduce inexperienced native youths raises deep questions about the nature of consent, inter-generational sex and cross-cultural understanding. GREEK PETE (UK) Over six months Andrew Haigh worked with a group of London rent boys to create a semi-improvised drama based on their lives. Speaking their own words they are presented as they want to be seen. Sometimes explicit, sometimes awkward this is a million miles from an idealised version of prostitution. TRANSVESTITES ALSO CRY (France) This powerful debut film, shot over three years, follows the day to day lives of two unforgettable transgendered emigrants from Ecuador, Romina and Mujerón, now living and working as prostitutes in Paris, having escaped the prejudice and economic hardship they suffered at home. DREAM BOY (US) In the isolated surroundings of rural Louisiana, Nathan is the new kid in town. Shy and introspective, Nathan keeps to himself, but it is not long before he notices Roy, the boy next door. Offering to help Roy with his homework, Nathan becomes increasingly fascinated with his confident neighbour, and the two soon begin a tentative love affair. FUCKING DIFFERENT TEL AVIV (Israel) Fifteen filmmakers from Tel Aviv were each approached to make a short film, with one criteria in mind - that the gay men must produce a film about lesbians and vice-versa. HALF-LIFE (US) Set in a near-future Northern Californian suburb threatened by looming global catastrophe, the magically atmospheric Half-Life centres on the disillusioned and decaying Wu family. Abandoned by their father, eighteen-year-old Pam and her little brother Timothy live with their self-absorbed mother and her young meteorologist boyfriend. Working nights as an airport janitor, the depressed Pam crushes on her best friend Scott, a gay Korean adoptee who desperately wants his religious parents to acknowledge his sexuality. Sensitive and innocent Timothy withdraws into a supernatural world of monstrous jellyfish and space travel to escape his loneliness. THE LOST COAST (US) Set over the course of one long Halloween night, The Lost Coast follows Mark, Jasper and Lily, three friends from high school now in their early twenties. NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM (US) It's laugh-out-loud funny and sexy, stylish and has a great soundtrack. Read the ka-os blog review. OMG/HAHAHA (US) A gay teen movie about the MySpace generation OMG/HaHaHa is an engaging tale of several young people in Memphis, Tennessee cleverly framed by a video blog kept by one of the central characters. PEDRO (US) A biopic celebrating a remarkable individual. Pedro Zamora was in MTV's Real World show in 1994 as an HIV positive person. He had been born in Cuba and then moved to Miami in the Marielitas exodus in 1980. Diagnosed with HIV as early as seventeen he became a peer educator speaking in schools about prevention. He died aged just 22 before the Real World’s final transmission but he had been able to carry out his dream of getting his message across to as many people as possible. STILL BLACK (US) With issues of race so often neglected in films about transgendered people and, as one of the participants in this documentary says, media representation of black men being generally limited to superstar sportsmen, criminals and Barack Obama, Still Black is a timely and vital piece of filmmaking. Viewers are offered a multi-faceted image of race, sexuality and trans identities through intimate portraits of six black transgendered men living in the USA, telling stories of their lives as artists, students, husbands, fathers, lawyers and teachers. STRAIGHTLACED - HOW GENDER'S GOT US ALL TIED UP (US) Debra Chasnoff has spoken exclusively to teenage high school students about their feelings on gender stereotypes and the roles adolescents are expected to play in their formative years. Aimed primarliy at younger audiences, the film is an engaging and thought-provoking experience, in which over 50 teenagers of various sexualities and ethnic backgrounds voice their opinions and share their fears. From discussions about the clothes they wear, to issues of bullying and violence, the film aims to create a much-needed dialogue amongst youth audiences, asking its viewers to question the stifling restraints of the binary gender system. In highlighting the sexual pressures that young people face everyday, Chasnoff has created a work of huge importance, that is both challenging and accessible. TRU LOVED (US) From the director of Coffee Date comes a smart comedy featuring the trials of Tru. She’s the daughter of two moms and as a new girl at school has problems fitting in. Her sweet boyfriend Lodell may be on the football team but he's a closet. When she tries to set up a Gay Straight Alliance things start to get tricky, not least for closeted teachers and students, but love and adolescent determination win the day. SHORTS LOT'S WIFE (Turkey) A reworking of the biblical story of Lot's wife, set in the outskirts of Istanbul, where three uncles intend to break up a happy home. JAMES (NORTHERN IRELAND) The answers James seeks will never be found at home. Will he find them at school? NEUROTICA (US) If you could hear the internal voices in a gay bar - it's not pretty. EVEN IN MY DREAMS (US) An elderly man develops an obsession with a Tom of Finland doll. THE FUGATIVES (Brazil) When Pedro discovers his mother has stolen his money, he runs away with his boyfriend. SIDNEY TURTLEBAUM (UK) Derek Jacobi plays Sidney Turtlebaum, a fascinating character whose hobby is attending funerals. HIRSUTE (CANADA) A scientist is visited by a hairless and arrogant version of himself from the future. THE YOUNG AND THE EVIL (US) A troubled teenager sets out to seduce an HIV positive counsellor into giving him the virus. THE WATCH (ARGENTINA) Time stands still when two football players meet at a bus stop. BRAMADERO (MEXICO) On the outskirts of Mexico City a building site is the location for a leisurely and highly charged romantic encounter. NO STRINGS ATTACHED (GERMANY) Documentary showing a demon cruiser in action. THE WINDOW (US) Three men discover the pleasures of voyeurism. Don't miss the last scene. ALLAN GINSBERG GIVES GREAT HEAD (SINGAPORE) Banned in Singapore, a young man muses on his hero Allen Ginsberg. THE POSTCARD (KOREA) Sending anonymous declarations of love on a postcard seemed like a good idea to hook the postman. THREE SUMMERS (Denmark) Three summer holidays reveal three stages in a relationship for Jorgen and Thomas. WRESTLING (ICELAND) A pair of wrestlers grapple with desire and each other. AWAKENING (DENMARK) While on a weekend break with his girlfriend and her family, Carsten has an unexpected sexual encounter that forces him to re-evaluate his life. MR A (US) When a curious teenage boy finds his teacher's profile on a gay dating website, he makes an unexpected move that has some serious consequences. PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT (UK) After a brief tryst with the handsome Daz in an underground archway, closeted teenager Saleem questions whether the two should meet again. BETWEEN COLOR AND RAZORS (BRAZIL) When Antony meets bus conductor Esperança on his daily commute, their lives transform in unexpected ways. THE LAST WISH (ARGENTINA) A prisoner's last wish confounds his executioners.