District 9

I know I don't usually talk about movies or other form of pop culture but after seeing District 9 I have to tell you to go see it!

Like any scifi movie there are bound to be inconsistencies but the way this movie was able to piece different aspects of other scifi tails and improve upon them is worth mentioning. The formula they used to combine a documentary about refugees a man trying to do his job & family trying to get home, that just happen to be aliens to create one movie was thoughtful and well approached and didn't feel contrived at all.

The movie starts with the documentary style that people use to make the most unbelievable seem believable. We all have seen the "Blair Witch Project" and if you didn't like "Cloverfield" I still think you will like D-9. It follows Wikus van der Merwe at work and his promotion with his company to personally evict the aliens from District 9. Each shot seemed to start from the interview or from a security camera or military scope which tied the bouncing shots together very well. It really made the action flow at a great pace while still letting you connect to even the CGI Prawns.

Then there's the 'Modern Refugee' story we were promised by Steven Spielberg in "The War of the Worlds" who instead gave us Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning over acting us to death. Director Neill Blomkamp gives us a story that could be anywhere and he sets the tone right at the beginning of the film refugees or immigrants invited legal or illegal could show up anywhere and he makes a clear point about the emotions that are stirred with the natives, but in this story the refugees are from another planet.

Wikus do to circumstances is now being hunted by his company and is forced to work with a Prawn named Christopher and his child and we start to see the "humanity" in the Prawns while struggling to hold on to his own. In Order to survive he was trust in Christopher. We watch him struggle with this and later watch Christopher question whether he can trust Wikus.

With all this great plot and dialog (half in Prawn) we also get great action and horror. Amazing weapons are at the disposal of the Prawn and this is where you can see that the picture is trying to tell us that these refugees may actually be peaceful creatures that we are just choosing to not try to understand. I really enjoyed the battle suit scene and many more aspects of this film.

Watch this movie and then pretend that the prawns were any other race or creed.

Wendy told me to do it!

How You Doin! Awright!

That's right peeps I was on the Wendy Williams Show today and I got to ask Wendy something. Now if you guys recall "cafe Con Frenemy" back in April I mentioned Facebook as a tool for investigating beau's and suitors so that you can see who they talk to the most or have the most "cyber interaction" with.

Recently I posted some old pics of me on facebook of when I was younger and thinner to help inspire me in my diet and quest for a lost waist line and it really helps. Well for the last few days my mother has been blowing me up on facebook. Making rude comments about my scantily pictures and just being plain rude so I asked Wendy if I should delete my mom and she said yes.

Now I tried to set her to have limited access to my page but that didn't stop her from commenting or sending emails about the stuff that I have public.

I'm now short one friend. :(

When Beautiful People Do Ugly Things

There I was waiting for the 2 train at Time Sq where standing before was one of the most handsome Latino men I have ever laid eyes on. Not only did he have the face of an angel he also had a body that was built for sin below the neck. He was very muscular not that that really gets me going but what caught my eye was his ass. Below his 48"chest was maybe a 28-30" waist and below that must have been a 36" butt. Not a fat one, the one that you know is on top of really muscular thighs. Suffice to say I was melting.

I stood next to him on the train when I noticed his hands. That was it I am in love. perfectly masculine manicured nails. No nail biting, no bruises or cracks, or nail polish or buffed shininess, just beautiful hands and finger nails. Then he fucked it up. He started making these hand motions like he was playing a video game I thought at first. As I continued to study his motions I realized what he was doing.

He was practicing taking apart a gun then firing it, then all these other motions that were apparent to coordinate with rifles and machine guns etc. I don't need to know how to do these things but I've seen enough Rambo like movies to get the jest. I realized he must me a military guy or a police cadet (I am a sucker for uniforms) but that's not an excuse.

I don't care what your opinion on gun control is unless you agree with me. "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." Stupid people say this cause 3 year old's don't bleed to death by sticking bullets up their noses' and gangland murder rates aren't so high cause they drive by break dance. Things were different when you were a kid (unless your my age or younger) cause guns were hard to come by! Asshole! So don't romanticize an object that can kill me, but feel free to try to break my hip!

Unlimited Rides

The heart beat of mid America may be Chevrolet, but the pulse of NYC is our mass transit system. I may not be a fan of the MTA and the fare hikes but I’ll throw down with anyone that talks smack about the NYC subway system. My neighbor constantly complains that he never has a seat or that the stations are so dirty blah blah blah… He’s correct but I always answer his complaints with “What time does the Boston subway system (his home town) stop running?” and he shuts up.

Not only does the transit system connect 5 boroughs and 4 million riders a day but it also connects people on a one on one level. Now I know a lot of people but today I happened to run into about 6 people in random locations that I haven’t seen in a while one person twice today but another one in the most random of locations. On a subway platform in midtown on the east side I saw a fellow that I see once in a while at meetings. I can’t help but feel connected and at home in NYC. I see people I know everywhere I go and I love that. As an addict a relapse is always an arms length away so it’s amazing to me that I can find recovery with the swipe of a metrocard.

While the MTA fairies were sprinkling me with recovery dust on another subway line my Aunt was the witness to a rather contrasting picture. On the train was a mother using a toothbrush to fix her daughter’s hair. My aunt stated that as the little girl cried the mother just began to curse at her. It reminds me of the scene in Mommie Dearest when Joan Crawford finds Christina using her makeup and hair products and decides to chop all her hair off.

It makes me think about how many people lack any sense of composure or tack. I’ve seen men clip their nails on the train, masturbate, pee between cars and sexually harass women and I’ve even been mugged on a platform. I think you’re not officially a New Yorker even by birth until you’ve been mugged. It’s a right of passage good for one fare. I’ve even seen women pee themselves, (poor old lady) and all sorts of other things, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Not only is there really great entertainment at busy transfer stations but there are dance and barber shop quartets and panhandlers with the same stories from 15 years ago but there are also our friends and family heading to a destination so lets be thankful for them arriving home safe tonight.

GIMME A HUG part duex

I was working in Union Square Park today and guess who i saw? Solomon the leader of the Free Hug Cult. He was not garnishing a giant free hug sign but he still had his sexy airs about him, although I could smell patchouli oil I am still fascinated by this create. The best part was as always in Union Square Park people like to get up on soap boxes and preach whatever they want and either connect with the crowd or in today's case enrage them. Including me. Solomon and I both challenged this preacher as he spit inconsistencies. I'm sorry of you're gonna open your mouth have the facts and data to back yourself up DON'T USE THE BIBLE as factual information in modern society. Compare all you like that's fine. Tell us how good things were when Jesus was here and blah blah blah, but don't talk about how aids in Africa is due to unchristian African truck drives that spread disease, or that abstinence reduces STD and teenage pregnancy rates. This is not me saying what my opinion is and making it fact like religions' try to do this data processed from the CDC (the Center for Disease Control) telling us that not educating people puts them at risk. I'm not gonna get into all the details of this asshole but I voiced my opinion since he was an idiot.

It was nice to see Solomon who informed me he was flattered of my blog entry from May 23rd "give me a hug" and to see him ruffle the preachers feathers. I went back to work knowing that Solomon and his crew would give preacher man a run for his money!

GOD I LOVE UNION SQUARE PARK!!!

WEPA! VIVA LA BOOGIE DOWN!

Hi peeps. This past week has been a little crazy and I have a lot of things going on this coming week but as always a vow to deliver an entry every Sunday/Monday to you guys in order to maintain the momentum. All I have to start working on some other writing assignments that I need to get done, like my college application essay (which some how I need to keep less then 250 words YEAH RIGHT) and a short story draft so I can have time to edit it for entry into a competition.

Ok so I recently attended a round table discussion at the local Pride Center here in the Bronx and I am really happy about the new acquaintances I’ve made. For starters the group was much larger then I expected and it was facilitated very well. As most of you know I’m no stranger to group therapy and am also very very critical of facilitators. I think that it’s a personal experience for each individual but I also think I have a sense for those that are able to use their personal style and the ability to adapt it the needs of the room. As my old councilor at rehab says “It’s about bringing as many people to the table as possible.”

For starters the group was 2 fucking hours long but it went by rather fast and we let the topics organically grow from each comment made. There was no set agenda or curriculum and plenty of cross talk but all healthy positive feedback. Now here’s the kicker it was a “Latino” group! For most of you that know me I’m very open about the fact that I’m half Italian and half Puerto Rican but lets be honest even my mother calls me a “gringo” cause I have acclimated and immersed myself in what would be considered “Caucasian Gay Society” well call it “CGS” from here on. Let me be honest here I’m afraid of my own gene pool well not afraid but they make me uncomfortable whether they be stereotypical Italian Guidos’ or Puerto Rican Boricuas’. I don’t know why I’m like this but I am. My mother is always telling me I need to be more in touch with my roots but I have a culture I lean towards the CGS and I know plenty of Italians and Puerto Ricans that are part of it but I also realize there is a large population of gays in both of these cultures that don’t feel apart of the CGS culture. At first I felt bad for them like they were depriving themselves of being part of their rightful culture and place but after this group I realize there is a place for a Latino Gay Society. I still don’t know if I’m a part of it but one thing that I’ve learned in recovery is that my disease always tries to convince me that I’m not a part of and that it’s up to me to engage the things I want to be included in, and this group was no different they welcomed me in and treated me as a part of. So one more point for recovery and another foul on the ‘ism’.

I admit I consider myself a white boy that can just tan well, however this has not spared me from the viscous tongue of racism. When I lived in Florida I had a very dark cinnamon bronze tan I’ve been called a spic asked if I was a member of a gang back home in the Bronx. I’ve received pity from my ex’s father who assumed that I was raised in a poverty level income due to my place of origin and I’ve been called a greasy dago from NY and I’ve been snapped at by people that assumed I was a bus boy in restaurant. All of these events took place in the south and south west. I’ve also had conversations started in Spanish and even been sexually harassed due to my Latin look when I was in my early 20’s. After that I stopped getting to dark of a tan but when I lived in Arizona I couldn’t help but get a dark tan and with my dark hair I’ve had Mexican people assume I was Mexican as well. Now I know my aunt right now is saying “NO WAY!” but even she thought I was an Asian man once from afar on the street. I have always been a chameleon of sorts and had the ability to blend in with my surroundings.

To native NYers’ we put a lot of value in our heritage. “What’s your background or where is your family from?” is a common question. Not to segregate each other but as a way of finding a commonality. We may be from different backgrounds or ethnicities or cultures or even subcultures but we seek out a common thread, religions, neighborhoods, sexualities, recovery fellowships, high schools & colleges. No matter how you slice it any wall can be a bridge. So who and or what am I? I’ll tell you who I am. I’m a recovering crystal meth addict named Tommy from Bronx that is half Italian and half Puerto Rican and I choose to surround myself with positive people that give me love and respect and I am learning that that doesn’t come from a specific culture but by the people I seek out in these groups, so if any one asks you where Tommy’s kin is from you can tell them his background is Kindness!

If you squirt lemon juice someone’s eye it doesn’t matter if you were trying to get it on their shrimp…

This has been a long week and I just got back from D.C. this morning and I’m really tired but I vow to always make an entry Sunday evening/Monday morning. I have three running ideas that I have chosen to keep on the shelf after I received some shocking news this evening. My ex that you all have heard from quite regularly was ‘outed’ today by a family friend.

For the ten years I have known Terence I have had an issue with his closeted lifestyle and several of his friends and myself loved his cover by subscribing to Maxim Magazine and then Stuff as well. Although it wasn’t the reason we broke up it played a factor but even then I knew it wasn’t my place to ‘out’ him. Besides it gave me a huge chunk of guilt ammunition when I wanted things my way.

They say the path to hell is paved with good intentions but for the details I’ve received this wasn’t done in an altruistic cause. It was done for some personal agenda. For me coming out was interesting experience. I first came out to my Aunt Lu and my grandmother Nana and both of them gave me their love and support. Neither were thrilled that I was dealt a hand that they perceived to be lonely and life threatening (this was ’95) but they knew that I had to live my own life and pursue the path that I felt was natural and right for me. Even my addict father who was in the ‘MOB’ (and as guido as he is and with the guido accent) said “You’re the only one that can live your life and all I want is for you to be happy.” My mother was another story even now at 30 she still hopes it’s a faze that I may still grow out of. So I would like to ask all of you to tell me how you came out or if you’re not out what keeps you in the closet?