Film Fluff

Sometimes cotton candy can be good for you too. It may not have the nutrients you need, but that satisfying feeling of contentment can't be beat.

I usually like my films, plays and other forms of entertainment with a bit of substance or at least something analyze. However there comes along a bit of fluff, which, when done well, can be ever so consuming.

Enter Hairspray.

I first heard of the movie a long time ago, which is only right since it's an old movie. It starred trash talk show dive Ricki Lake as a (as many people like to quote) "pleasantly plump" teenager in early 60's Baltimore.

I ignored the musical version which came out on Broadway a few years back, brushing it off as bubblegum Broadway. When they annoucned a movie version of the musical that was based on a movie, I became curious enough to buy the soundtrack of the Broadway version.

It's bubblegum all right, but oh what fine chewy, pliable, delicious bubble it is.

It has rubbed away all the pretense from me and has taken over my iPod (don't worry it's tempered by another oft played musical, the indie musical about a divorce The Last Five Years).

And so I present to you the racially integrated finale of Hairspray as seen on the Today Show.

"You Can't Stop the Beat"

Those people are dynamite! I can only hope that the younger cast of the film can catch up, but with a stellar cast which includes Allison Janney, James Marsden, Michelle Pieffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifa and John Travolta (as a rotund mother no less!), I can't help but get a little bit giddy with Hairspray anticipation.

Preview of the film musical Hairspray on TRL

Oh yeah, it also features that amazingly not-so-annoying-anymore actress, Amanda Bynes and the "it" boy of 2006, Zac Effron.

I never really like the jock look of Zac Effron in "High School Musical" (now THAT is pure fluff) and he sort of annoyed me then (though I have to admit his shirtless scene in the locker room was easy on the eyes). Now, I just think he's the "bee's knees" or whatever they'd say back then. His hair looks good. Then again, I might just be a sucker for guys with black hair.

A pseudo teaser trailer can be seen here.

CQ's Kitchen: Index Card No. 1

And now it's time to flex my culinary muscles.

Like many people, I'm fond of good cooking. I was probaby born to cook because as early as six years old, I was already cooking ham, mushroom and cheese omelettes.

As I grew up I dabbled in different cuisines and had my fair share of failures. Thankfully, from the ashes and crumbs of those disasters rose some recipes that have become particular favorties of my family and friends. So now, I will every now and then share some of my masterpieces.

As a note, I am not a professional chef nor is this really a scientific matter. My meaurements comes in one size: to taste. I've added measurements so that people will feel better about trying out my recipes. However, I probably don't follow them anyway.

Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke, trust me.

Cream of Squash Soup

Ideally this should be made with an oven, but this is a version with can be done on a stove. I served this recently at a party with my friends and surprisingly this became their favorite dish, dislodging my pasta from its lofty throne.

One fresh squash or pumpkin (your favorite variety will do)
At least 4 cloves of garlic
3 whole white onions chopped
1 can of cream
Fresh milk (full cream or low-fat will do)
1/2 cup grated cheese (any semi-hard cheese)
Fresh basil chopped (or any fresh herb will do)
Curry powder (or cumin, paprika and all-spice)
Salt and pepper (or seasoned salt) to taste
Worcestershire sauce
Butter and/or olive oil
Bullion Cube (optional)

Directions:


Peel the squash and cut into squares. Toss the squash along with two cloves of crushed garlic and one chopped onion into a pot of boiling water (just enough to cover the squash). Cook until the squash is tender. Drain the water (you can opt to save it for later) and put the softened squash, onions and garlic in a food processor. Add a little bit of butter (about a tablespoon) and a bit of milk. Puree the squash until it becomes a smooth paste.

Mince the remaining cloves of garlic and chop the two onions.

Over a medium flame, heat a large saucepan (make sure it's large enough to hold all of the soup you intend to make), and toss in some olive oil and the minced garlic. Make sure you put them in at the same time because tossing in the garlic after the oil is hot will burn it. Sauté the garlic and quickly add the onions. Season this with a dash of salt. Once the onion has become tender, lower the heat of the stove. Add most of the chopped basil, saving some as garnishing. Quickly add the squash paste and another dollop of butter quickly sautéing the paste without burning it. Season with a teaspoon of curry poweder or a dash of equivalent spices. Add the cream and briskly stir it until the cream is incorporated into the paste and vice versa.

Add milk and vegetable stock (where the squash was boiled in) alternately until the mixture reaches a soup-like consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in grated cheese until it melts. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot.

Electric Dreams

I am not usually one to dwell in fantasies. I try to keep things as real as possible.

However, every now and then the occasional creation from the realm of the fantastic does capture my eye and sends me in fits of delirium.

One of my hobbies is gaming. And in the past decades or so this medium of entertainment has grown considerably. Since this is a stereotypically heterosexual pursuit, most of gamedom's characters are fetching lasses in skimpy outfits. Hence, growing up, it was virtually impossible for me to fixate on any of my gaming heroes for scopophilic ends. I mean, who could develop a crush on those guys from Contra as you saw them on your television?

As gaming became more advanced, it became to portray the finer nuances of the human anatomy. And while I once again call on my tendency to remain prudent, some gaming hunks have tickled my fancy.

Here are my top crushes in gaming.

Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid

Okay, so this picture really isn't of Solid Snake hhimself, but rather of his "dad", Naked Snaka (a.k.a. Big Boss). Since Solid was cloned from Big Boss, they look the same. Plus one of the hottest aspects of Metal Gear Solid 3 (which is a prequel) is that you could dress up Naked Snake in various camo outfits. I like making run around the jungle without his shirt on. Rowrf!

Gillian Seed, SNATCHER

So this guy isn't really that famous. He's Gillian Seed, an amnesiac who was discovered with his wife in a cryogenic sleep in Siberia. The only thing he remembers is the word Snatcher, which is now a bio-mechanical terror, which impersonates the people it murders. Think Blade Runner and you'll get what Snatcher is about. Gillian is a cop with a mysterious past and undergoing a divorce. I just think he's hunkily drawn and is really a likeable guy. His amnesia in a subtle way makes him a bit of a teenager searching for his identity and this appeals to my paternal insticts.

Link, The Legend of Zelda

It seems quite unlikely that I'd ever have a crush on Link from The Legend of Zelda. The original NES showed him as a squat Elf. Those old Saturday morning cartoons made him look like a leftover of the Eighties and sounded like a imbecilic spawn of suburban America.

So imagine my surprise when in the June 2006 issue of Out Magazine, they awarded Link as the "Hottest Video Game Character." I mean, I do agree to some degree, but with countless shirtless hunks in all those other games flexing muscles, wooing bitches and killing enemies, it was a bit of a surprise. Out Magazine writes:

When darkness enshrouds the land, Nintendo's sexy farm-boy-turned-wolf sets out to save the day in this upcoming game. His weapons: a sword, a bow, arrows and kick-ass grooming skills.

Uhuh. So whatever. I ignored it. However, once I actually got to play the new Zelda game, I was in for a rude awakening (or stirring).

Shirtless Link!

It was just too much for me to take. I couldn't really know if I was scandalized or strangely attracted to my elven alter ego. Is it his lean bod? Those stylized sumo garb? Or the fact that he has never been shirtless before? All those years of secret, unattended yearnings, unleashed by a flash of digital flesh? I swoon.

I don't usually go blonds and this Link is more brownish in hair, so that definitely ups the hotness level. Nor do I usually go for twinks, but heck. I'll do this one.

I don't think this pic does Link justice. A video of the sequence will provide you with a better peek at Link's pecs.

Move the slider to the 1:40 mark for Link's man on man action.

I think Link reminds of those amateur guys who, um, do the deed on those sites that are so prominently featured in sites like QueerClick. I have never been this enamoured with a videogame character before and I don't think I ever will.

I have never felt so guilt-stricken as well. It's like falling in love with your best friend. O such sweet taboo.



I end this featurette with a pic of the hottest Link I could find. I couldn't stop staring at his beautiful face. Never before have I developed a crush... No, dare I say it?... fallen in love with someone who liked to dress up as a fictional character (or any character for that matter).

First of all, I'd like to draw your attention to the perfectly mesmerizing eyes. Then the flawlessly translucent skin. Then to those oddly attractive ears. Finally to the meticulously crafted green tunic.

Rapture!


The only problem.


This Link's a girl.



And once again my closeted heterosexuality tries to make itself known.

And now for something fun...

Lacoste Pour Homme



Chanel No. 5


Now both ads exude style. Granted these both sell fashion merchendise, but the way they do it so class you just gotta keep it in your mind.

The first one uses Ian Lawless, a hunky hunk of a hunk kicking around pillows in the buff. It's sexy, but so tasteful you'd feel guilty if you ever tainted the impeccable Mr. Lawless. I find himtimpossibly hot. Whenever I see this video, I just go nuts, literally. Even after a few years, I still haven't lost my crush on him. Hopefully the fragrance lingers as longs as these stirrings.

The second one features Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro in an opulent ad directed by Moulin Rouge helmer Baz Luhrmann. The nods to his movie with Nicole are deliberate and explicit. However instead of detracting from its appeal, the ad works because of it. The idea of romance is sold. Not to me however.

Why? No shirtless Rodrigo Santoro. How can you even think of selling that to me? All the budget blown away for nothing.

Oh yeah, I have a crush on Nicole Kidman. Then again, that's like falling in love with Judy Garland.

Selfish Me.

WARNING:
Today's blog entry is an angry, self-loathing, self-serving rant against all civilized society.
If you do not want to spoil your day, I suggest you wait until I'm in a better mood for a perkier blog entry. You have been warned.
Proceed at your own risk.
I need a hug.

And I don't expect it to come from anyone anymore.

In my feeble attempts to sort and sieve through my life, I have just come to realize that maybe I don't need anyone. Or I don't need just anyone.

I believe I've been a good friend to my friends. Well, maybe not where money is concerned, but I try to be there whenever I can.

However, it has come to the point where I don't really want to worry about their problems. I need to get it together.

So I got problems, great. I suppose it's the unattractive me or I think I'm unattractive. Gay culture ruins people like me - pushing me further into the closet.

All this bullshit of people complaining about how it sucks to be single really gets on my nerves. Boo-hoo, my life sucks. Boo-hoo, I'm single. Fucking shit! I've been single for four years. I'm practically in a convent or a monastery or something like fucking that. Sure, I complain about, but not as much as some people. The worst part of it is that it's not just a couple of people but a handful of them, coming up to me.

I'm not Oprah. I'm not Dr. Phil. Fuck off!

So maybe I asked for it. Nice guys finish last. For people like that, my heart bleeds for them. Really, I do.

It's just that I'm such a frickin' bleeding heart that I've grown numb. Gimme space. I'll fix my own life first. Then, maybe, we can fix yours.

I try not to dwell too much on my own status. However, when people who have only been single for less than half a year begin to rant about how much it sucks. I get so fucking offended. What am I chopped liver?

I chose to be single for four years (long story made short, it's my personal therapy for the end of a four year relationship). Now that I'm back in the market. My sealegs are woobly. I have no idea what I'm doing.

So I end up staying away. I need to love myself. Not someone else.

Then again, here I am. Mr. Tough Guy is spent from ranting.





And I still need a hug.



"Nothing lasts forever." "All good things must end." I've memorized that phrase by heart. So tell me, I need to know it. When do the good things start? -Charlie Brown, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"

Brazil? Brazil!

And I pop back online.

I've barely taken the time to actually continue this blog simply because there isn't anything happening to me that is worth noting. Or at least anything that I really want to be talking about.

After much brooding (and working - as work really took its toll on me this month), I've mustered up all my thoughts into a coherent theme - Brazil.

Unfortunately, if you ever saw this gem of a film, you'd know that it's anything but coherent (in a conventional sense at least). I'd hate to sing praises for this movie and sound like a poseur, so I won't. At least I won't pretend to like parts that I didn't really understand.

I bought the DVD on sale at HMV in the UK (Thank God for Generic Region-Free Players). I hadn't really had the time to watch it until this month. I had half my brain focused on something else and early on it was a struggle to focus on somethings. However the visuals tickled my fancy. I couldn't really feel for Sam Lowry's (Jonathan Pryce) flight sequences but his mom's facelift scene early on is definitely priceless!

A hodgepodge of the futuristic 20th century and a bit of the old-fashioned 50's look mashed into one proves that Terry Gilliam is one sick, sick genius. The question what is "Brazil"? Is not answered at all. The title is just there, freely available for you to pick apart. Gilliam offers the best explanation, to paraphrase, it's Walter Mitty meets Franz Kafka. Or something like that.

A lot of explanation runs along that line: something like that. It's not quite definite and it is precisely this lack of certainty that "Brazil" plays around with. The dystopian utopia which is mildly reminiscent of the world that "V for Vendetta" presents, but unlike that 2005 release this Nineteen-Eighty-Four for 1984 film has no real menace. Except maybe for the bureaucracy which is a tangled mess of a paper trail much like the ducts which undulate and snake through the film. Untouchable and inscrutable by all except those who dare to do so.

And to dare to dream is what Sam Lowry (a pun? a relative of Willy Loman perhaps?) does. At least in his dreams.

An in mine as well. Or something like that.

Much like his character I live in the fantasies of my mind. No, I'm not dabbling in dirty talk. I just have these bouts of daydreams of incredible images and situations. Things that make my regular life, well more liveable. It's not that is that ill-lived. It's just that the inner-child, someone I've repressed throughout childhood is trying to break free.

And break free it must. To the rhythm of Rio's deep and throbbing beat if possible.


If Terry Gilliam has his way, the torture of everyday life will be underscored by saucy samba music. And in many ways, that's the story of my life.

Minus the samba dancing.

"Aquarela do Brasil" (Watercolor of Brazil)