Lucky

Adam Driver is all over the entertainment news. I saw him last week in The Report, and I saw him last night in Marriage Story on Netflix. The movie received six Golden Globe nominations yesterday, including Best Actor for Adam Driver. The movie is certainly well done. Scarlett Johansson plays the wife, Laura Dern plays her lawyer. My review says that the women in this movie are awfully harsh on the men. Driver can't win when they gang up on him. Dern, in particular, plays a ball-cutting divorce lawyer. Ultimately, the movie was just depressing. If two well-intended people cannot make a go of marriage, what's that leave for others not so committed? Relationships are hard, but are they impossible in today's society? Yes, of course, I know of people with lengthy and satisfying relationships, but...it seems like the younger generation is having a harder time.

Currently former CIA Director John Brennan is getting some accolades for standing up to Donald Trump. Well, if you watch the ADAM Driver movie The Report on Amazon Prime, you will learn that Brennan is a disgusting liar who tried to cover up all of the torture done by the CIA under Cheney. That's my takeaway from this powerful movie. I'll let a professional reviewer tell you about the movie cuz he can do it much better than I can: From Variety: The Report Director: Scott Z. Burns With: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Ted Levine, Maura Tierney, Michael C. Hall. Release Date: Jan 26, 2019 Official Site: https://www.sundance.org/projects/the-report Let’s talk, for a moment, about the political thrillers of the 1970s — not just the reality and urgency that coursed through them, but the history-written-with-lightning feeling they gave you. In a galvanizing work of art like “All the President’s Men,” or even a topically charged entertainment like “Three Days of the Condor,” it was the hunt for truth, the moment-to-moment investigative fervor of it, that was always so addictive and engrossing. In those movies, morality and drama became one. “The Report,” written and directed by Scott Z. Burns, is a true-life drama about relatively recent events in Washington, D.C., that carries that same rapt, tense, electric, slice-to-the-bone-of-what’s-happening sensation. It’s the sort of movie that Hollywood once made and now, for the most part, comes up with only rarely; maybe now we have to go to Sundance to see it. But even here, “The Report” is a bit of an anomaly: a large-scale saga of corruption, justice, and overwhelming relevance that’s at once gripping and eye-opening, even if you’re the sort of news junkie who thinks they already know the story. As the title comes on screen, it says “The Torture Report,” and then the word “torture” gets blocked out, as if it were being redacted. The movie goes on to tell the true story of Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), a staff member of the U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence who in 2009, while working for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), gets charged with heading up a Senate investigative report into the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” during the aftermath of 9/11. The impetus for creating the report is the revelation that the Agency has destroyed hundreds of hours of tapes of those same interrogations. What, exactly, went on in them? Jones spent five years and combed through 6.3 million pages of documents to get the answer. How do you make an exciting movie out of this? Burns, a veteran screenwriter (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) and producer (“An Inconvenient Truth”), has never directed a major feature before, and he doesn’t try to gussy up the events by spoon-feeding us a lot of melodramatic cereal. “The Report” is as steeped in information and wonkish detail as a deep-dive work of journalism. It lets the facts, and our apprehension of what they mean, tell the story. That’s a tricky thing to bring off, but Burns, by trusting the audience, has created a darkly authentic political thriller that does exactly what a movie like this one should do. It leaves you chastened and inspired. Driver, in jackets and ties and a squared-off haircut that give him the look of a bureaucratic D.C. lifer, plays Jones as a man consumed, at the expense of everything else, by his mission: to learn what the CIA did and why. He and his small staff are given a basement office that’s like a fluorescent concrete tomb with obsidian computer screens. As he looks at what happened to each of the key Middle Eastern figures who was captured and detained after 9/11 (there were, in the end, a total of 119), the film flashes back to extended sequences that show us how the enhanced interrogation techniques program evolved and what it really looked like. We’ve seen bits of this in movies before, such as “Zero Dark Thirty,” which implied that shutting someone up in a box rendered him more cooperative. Burns sticks closer to the real record: that when prisoners were subjected to practices that edged over the line of what the Geneva Convention allows, they didn’t give up vital information — they fell into states of agonized delirium and said nothing, or spouted nonsense, or revealed old contacts. In “The Report,” we see the prisoners squirreled away at black sites, in unnamed countries, in dungeons with tunnels, getting slammed against walls or “short-shackled” to the floor, with death metal blasting, or being waterboarded, a process that was said to be uncomfortable yet “safe” — but, in fact, was not without its hazards. The man heading up the interrogations, Dr. Jim Mitchell (Douglas Hodge), is a psychologist with a private contracting company who is given a budget of $80 million to grind the truth out of the prisoners. Yet he has never conducted an interrogation before (yes, this all really happened), and he operates under the basic intuitive sadistic assumption that ruled these practices: the more pain, the more gain. When Mitchell and his associate waterboard somebody and ask, “Where’s the next attack?,” it’s as if they seriously believe that there truly is one in the works, and that the prisoner knows it, and that he’s going to give it up. But as Jones scrutinizes one case after another, he’s confronted not just by the horror of what went on, but by the staggering ineffectiveness of it. None of the prisoners reveals anything. Ever. Yet that’s not how the CIA spins it. In truth, the things that were learned during that time — like the revelation of who Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, was, or the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden — all came from connecting dots of information that the CIA already had in its possession. The enhanced interrogation techniques trashed international law and gave the U.S. nothing. And, of course, became the ultimate recruiting tool for radical Islam. You may say, “Sure, I knew all this already.” But it’s not as if Watergate was news the first time (or the 10th) you ever watched “All the President’s Men.” “The Report” burrows into the palace intrigue of how the realities of American torture were covered up, and of what was going on in the minds of the people who were doing this stuff. President Bush, as the film makes explicit, was kept out of the loop; it was Vice President Dick Cheney who gave the approval. And what “The Report” shows us is that the torture, even though it wasn’t working, gratified something in the psyche of the men (and, on occasion, the women) who operated the American security machine. Whether or not it worked, it was on some level payback, a primitive signifier of war. Adam Driver, who is such a fine actor, keeps finding new things to surprise us with, changing up his persona in ways that feel entirely organic. In “The Report,” he speaks in rapid fire, with concentrated purpose and intensity, and he’s tasked with the challenge of delivering great big heady chunks of dialogue that are there to lure us into the action on an expository level — i.e., he keeps telling the audience what’s going on. Yet the fiercely contained force of Driver’s performance is that he makes this ongoing factual download a vital part of the character. Washington is the ultimate town that runs on information, and for Jones, the complicated question of what the CIA did, and knew, becomes an issue of obsession. He’s explaining it to us and to himself. About halfway through the movie, he gets ready to deliver his report (which ran, in its original form, to nearly 7,000 pages), and that’s when he runs up against the roadblock that was always lurking: the CIA plans to kill it. Even after President Obama is elected and uses the T-word (“torture”) in his first few days of office, he wants to get the issue behind him. But Jones, though he’s at the nexus of U.S. government power, realizes that he’s been appointed, in effect, to be a whistleblower. He’s like a one-man Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and he pushes back against any attempt to bury the report. He ends up with a target on his back. Staging recent history, and making it convincing, isn’t easy. But Scott Z. Burns brings it all off with supreme confidence. He leaps from Senate hearings to back-room meetings with the threatening new head of the CIA, John Brennan (Ted Levine), to Jones’s Deep Throat-like encounters with a CIA medical officer (Tim Blake Nelson) and the New York Times national security reporter. Jones is also forced to take a meeting with a high-priced lawyer (Corey Stoll) when it looks like he may face criminal charges for leaking a classified document: the CIA’s own report on enhanced interrogation techniques, overseen by Leon Panetta, which came to the same conclusion that Jones’ report did. The CIA knew torture wasn’t working, but couldn’t admit it because it would damage the Agency’s credibility. The average political drama would look at a reality like that and tut-tut its disapproval. But part of the seductive intelligence of “The Report” is that Burns, as a filmmaker, wants to understand as much as he wants to wave a moral flag. His film isn’t a liberal-left harangue. It unfolds in the world of realpolitik, where a man like Daniel Jones operates out of a purity that the country needs but, at the same time, can’t always afford. (There’s a dryly funny phone call between Sen. Feinstein and President Obama, in which Obama’s curt refusal to make heads roll is basically his way of paying the CIA back for killing Osama bin Laden, and therefore aiding his re-election.) Nowhere is the balance of idealism and practicality, valor and hard-headedness, more exquisitely embodied than in Annette Bening’s superb performance as Dianne Feinstein. From her beauty-shop hair to her iron-lady gaze to her voice of delicate will, Bening is note-perfect. But she also makes Feinstein a ticklish study in how power works, at its best, in Washington — as a game of survival that filters the right thing to do through the art of the possible. “The Report” is a galvanizing movie that, if handled correctly, many people will want to see, because by the time it’s over the movie feels like something this country needs now more than ever: a reckoning.

Can Pete Win? The latest: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/opinion/pete-buttigieg-polls.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I think the theater buffs are mostly at the other site, but for what it is worth I will post this. Broadway HD is a streaming channel that has a host of shows, both musicals and plays, along with theater related films. It even has Cirgue Soleil shows. This afternoon I watched a London production of Jerry Springer: The Opera. It's one of my favorites, having seen it in London at the National Theater. (The live show, imo, always beats a televised show.) It was a lot of fun to see again, and I look forward to getting my $8.99 a month out of the channel. That's after my free 7-day trial. broadwayhd.com

Too far left, too moderate...and too white! Pete may win this after all, but I don't think he can beat Trump. Anyone paying attention saw this coming. It's no big surprise.

A Michigan priest denied communion to a long-time parishioner who is married to another woman. She is also a chief district judge. Looking at the picture, my first thought was that this priest is gay. I do have some experience in these things, but still, it's only a picture and I could be wrong. But apparently he also denied communion to another gay parishioner, which makes me think he has gay on the brain. Am I so wrong? The story: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michigan-catholic-priest-communion-lesbian-judge_n_5de55c1fe4b0d50f32a6f0a0

I was in Tokyo for a few days in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. Foreigners were simply not welcome at gay bars and saunas. There was one small gay bar for Westerners, but hardly any locals frequented it. Definitely the most racist country I have been to.

Many years ago I tried this drug. It made me completely lose interest in sex- even window shopping. I like having sexual thoughts more than I worry about my hair loss.

Recently I have read a few books of gay interest. My favorite is Someday, Someday. It's a gay romance where two guys struggle with their feelings. That is nothing new, but the author, Emma Scott, does a bang-up job on the story, keeping the reader entranced to the very end. Here's some amazon info about the novel: EVERYONE needs to read this book! Riveting, electric, and poignant. Emma does not waste her words. Every sentence, every line of this story was magic.--Kate Stewart USA Today Bestselling Author How long would you wait for love? Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies. The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty… Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature. Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing a chance at happiness and real love. (all copied from Amazon) The second novel, Toy, (as in boytoy!) is more on the fun side. Toy: a contemporary m/m romance. (From Amazon:) Troy the toy isn’t looking for a relationship. He gets all the sex he needs whilst working at Priapus: a brothel in inner city Melbourne. Over the past three years, he has learned to turn himself off and load his Tommy program whenever he is with a client. A saleable commodity in today’s consumer society, he is well aware that his cute twink appeal has an expiry date, but he is content for now with the status quo. That is, until his homophobic high school bully books an appointment. Seeing Nick Stephanides again after all these years gives Troy’s operating system a bit of a jolt. Troy has always assumed that Nick is straight, but Nick is gay, lonely and determined to start a bromance with Troy. How can Troy say no to those broad shoulders? Troy and Nick begin a tentative friendship, whilst Troy continues to provide good customer service to his clients, some of whom have very interesting requests. Offering advice and support are his friends at Priapus: Melissa, his manager, who keeps a maternal eye on her boys, Brett, the bear and Ari, the surfie dude, whose passionate love affair is the catalyst for much soul searching, Qiu, the cheery Goth and Damien, the beautiful redhead who, for some reason, tenses up at the mere suggestion that Troy might one day break his dating embargo. And then there’s Desmond the politician, who pays to watch Troy dance. Of course, Troy’s operating system is bound to glitch sooner or later. Will it be Nick who finally sneaks under his defences? There is that ancient proverb about Greeks bearing gifts… " Finally, gay lawyer and author Michael Nava has created an entire series of novels about a gay lawyer named Henry Rios. Every novel in the series is well done. Nava retired from writing several years ago, but recently came out with a long-awaited new novel, Carved In Bone. Again, from Amazon, the synopsis: Was Bill Ryan's death an accident? Henry Rios has his doubts. The first new Henry Rios novel in 20 years from six-time Lambda Literary award winner Michael Nava is a brilliantly plotted mystery that weaves together the gripping story of two gay men against the backdrop of 1980s San Francisco as the tsunami of AIDS bears down upon the city. Kirkus Review says: "Delivering an unusual subject and structure, this tale offers refreshing emotional depth and a gay narrative seldom seen in thrillers." 90% of ts Amazon ratings are five star. I really liked it and am glad to have Nava writing again. So, do you have good gay novels to recommend? I am always ready for a new one!

I'll let you queens go back to fighting each other. You live here but you can't get along.

I remember now that this is not the first time it has come up:

Mvan, Riobard, and Solace Soul lead the effort to keep the Latin Forum interesting, and it is the only forum where there are constant new posts. Where do you guys get the time to do this?

The President of the United States called attention yesterday to a right-wing preacher's warnings that civil war would be at hand should the President be impeached. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-civil-war-impeachment-violence-removed-from-office_n_5d916a88e4b0019647aaa42d

I'd rather check his ass!

Once at the Narai Hotel security came to my room where I had brought a hot bodybuilder from Tawan. The guy said he suspected I had a woman in the room. Naturally, I denied it. He insisted on checking, so he found the body builder in a bikini on my bed. I agreed to pay extra for the guy, I can't remember how much, but it turned out that the guy had not brought his ID, so he was out. At the old Crowne Plaza, now the Holiday Inn, security met me at the elevator and directed me to the front desk, where they asked for about $40 to have the boy in the room. I was take aback, and declined. We went to the Surawong instead. (Today I would just pay it.) This is the same hotel that did not have my room ready when I arrived from the States dog-tired at 2 a.m. I had to wait an hour and a half! No doubt they were renting the room knowing I would be late. And, Oz, I can now claim 20 hotels as your question prompted a memory of another hotel incident. I think it was called the Evergreen. It's on Convent Road at Sathorn. We were staying there because our Thai friend knew the Caucasian manager, who had assured me there would be no problem with guests. And I enjoyed the company of a very hot guy. I escorted him to the lobby as he left and I returned to the elevator. A man in a suit got on with me and pushed a button for a floor above mine. However, he got off with me on my floor and proceeded to say he was hotel security and insisted on checking my room. Naturally, it was empty as he was too late. The odd thing is that when I told the manager the next morning, he said they had no security dressed as this guy was. He checked around and found no one from the hotel to say he was the one who had checked on me. So, who was? It's been fun recalling these hotels as each has its own memory!

This comment prompted me to think of all the different Bangkok hotels I have stayed in. I could only come up with 19.

Steven, you want the banter between us to stop, so you should not claim the last word for yourself. You have not made the slightest effort to explain why you revealed personal information here about you clients. If you were still an active escort, that would keep a lot of people from hiring you. The community is huge, with lots of young firebrands ready to go forward as activists. Yet you pick on 2 guys in their 80's. I submit that's because you have a personal grudge to work out. Find the younger guys who need a nudge to become more active and work on them. I did my part, and yes, I am now retired. The fight for gay rights, and escort legalization, will continue. I do support your activism. And, I will concede that until you went after two of your best clients, I admired you. Yes, I even liked you. Thanks for letting me have the last word. I am done now on this topic.

grumble grumble grumble bark bark bark You derailed your own thread when you used it to attack Oliver and Epigonos, formerly your lucrative clients. Now I see that they have become Ollie and Epi. How sad. Why do you reveal client information here?

Steven, I wish you all the best in your activism. Not everyone is an activist, and some of us are retired. Do you really expect guys in their 80's to become gay activists? Why not just let them be retired? The torch has been passed to a new generation. Focus on those guys. I've always understood that an escort relationship necessarily involves trust. Clients expect that their privacy will be kept by the escort. Posting personal information on the internet about a client is, I think, a violation of that trust. A client's health or bedroom activities is for him to talk about, not the escort.

I do.

Steven, did not Oliver, and especially, Epigonos, spend tons of money on you? You knew their politics yet still let them hire you. For years! Your lack of loyalty to your friends is stunning. Once your escorting days were numbered and those bucks weren't so sure anymore, you turn on them. I am also of the opinion that if that website ends, the Pool Party would also likely end. So what? No one else has stepped up to make the effort that Epigonos and Oliver made. They made this event a big success and created good times that many participated in., Oliver never asked for a penny to compensate him for the costs of the weekend.

The Democrats need to focus on defeating Trump. We don't need long, drawn-out impeachment investigations. The people will decide on Trump in the election.

Bernie is probably a fan of daft punk as well.

+1

I like Greenwald and Miranda.