oscarraymundo

American Idiots: It’s almost laughable the social pseudo-trends that make it on the U.S. covers of TIME and Newsweek while the rest of the world spins madly into chaos. For a long time I used to think that media conglomerates had a responsibility to report news — regardless how alarming — and raise overall public awareness of “real issues.” However while interning at Newsweek, I learned that these covers undergo focus groups to gauge mass market appeal. And surprise! No one wants to pick up a magazine with a photo of a gauntly foreigner strained with despair while waiting to purchase diet soda and Corn Flakes at Safeway. I still think someone’s ought to force us though.

(Source: paxamericana, via tyleroakley)

Pixar Goes Dark: This week the animation studio responsible for ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ announced a slate of new flicks. I was intrigued by two in particular. The first is the untitled mind-bending exploration of dreams, memories and the subconscious. The second is the project inspired by Dia de los Muertos (the Mexican equivalent of Halloween).

The dream movie sounds promising, but only if it sticks close to the science of how the brain actually works. The human mind is already magical enough. It can be refreshingly educational, maybe even tap into the pseudo-psychology of dreamwork and how we form memories. Ideally, it would be written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. If Pixar adds cute and cuddly dream creatures trolling about in our synapses, I will scream.

The Dia de los Muertos film is already being billed as “darker fare.” But I just wish the word “dark” meant more than just a synonym for “Tim Burton-esque.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’ is one of my favorite movies of all time, but those films have already been done (and have already even been rehashed). Can’t Pixar strive to create a different “dark” aesthetic, perhaps one rooted more closely in the Mexican tradition their film draws its inspiration?

All in all, I hate how long we’re going to have to wait to find out more about the stylistic directions of both these films. 2015? Too long considering I’m already not that thrilled with that ‘Brave’ movie coming this year.

nakedpicturesofyourdad:

4. Aiden Shaw (1966-  )

[guest post by Oscar Raymundo ]

I have no desire to ever watch an Aiden Shaw porn flick. For me, fantasies of Aiden stem from my own imagination. They don’t take me back to his “prime,” the thin-framed, clean-shaven smug of being the highest paid gay porn star of all time. No, my fantasies of Aiden are fixed in the present. At 46, Aiden Shaw is hotter now.

With piercing eyes, shoulders you could mount and a full head of lightening white hair, Aiden is a god among men –- a sex-crazed Zeus with a British accent.

I first met Aiden in 2009, when he did a reading at A Different Light to promote his memoir, Sordid Truths. Since I had just started coordinating events at the bookstore, I was inexperienced and bewildered. He was eloquent and graceful yet gruff, certain of what he wanted but happy to please others. Fuck prancing around in my early twenties, I had so much to learn.

The sexiest thing about Aiden Shaw is his firm maturity, how he has embraced middle age like a stud embraces one-night stands. Aiden is a testament that men’s virility doesn’t have to whither over time. In fact, it can bulk up stronger, get thicker, hairier, rougher, insatiable without ever having to apologize.

For all of our aging sakes, I hope that there will come a day when we stop being so youth-obsessed. Give me elderly wisdom over whiney 21-year-olds any day. Think of it this way: every white hair is a sex trick perfected; every wrinkle is a roadmap to a lustful night you’ll never forget.

So while the rest of the world drools over gay porn’s vapid, erratic Dorian Grays du jour, I get off on Shaw’s stern, manly gaze, his commitment to wellbeing, his way with words. Who wants a fountain of youth when life is meant to be mouthwatering?

Oscar Raymundo is a writer based in San Francisco currently working on a futuristic gay love novel, ‘Confessions of a Boy Toy.’

[photo: Mustafa Sabbagh]

nakedpicturesofyourdad:

12. Marlon Brando (1924-2004)
[Guest post by Oscar Raymundo]

Only Marlon Brando can drench misogyny in sex appeal. His character in A Streetcar Named Desire is far from the cookie-cutter heroic roles that appeal to current-day heartthrobs like Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner. That’s because when it came to acting, Marlon Brando had balls.

From playing a Nazi soldier in The Young Lions to the raw sexuality of a Last Tango in Paris, Brando was always drawn to complicated characters and riskier film fare. It seems like his entire career he was trying to avoid the typecasting that would have made him just another pretty boy in Hollywood. Even though, to me, he was the prettiest one of them all.

A Streetcar Named Desire is a multifaceted film featuring a flawless cuckoo performance by Vivien Leigh and the inimitable dialogue of Tennessee Williams, but it was Marlon Brando who became the cultural eye candy.

He is briefly first onscreen rough and rowdy in the midst of a man brawl. His real entrance is almost in slow motion, to fully admire those pouty, bad boy lips. It’s not long before Brando’s blue-collar background gets him all sweaty, then shirtless, strutting carelessly around a tiny apartment, bumping into whomever he wishes, for it’s his territory.

He roars like a kitty and then smashes some dishes. He fights with the guys, hits his wife and creates utter mayhem in the neighborhood. But when he comes out begging for Stella in a ripped, skin-tight t-shirt after being drenched under a shower, uh… yes, we forgive you, Marlon. And it’s this gentle/aggressive volatile dichotomy that makes you want to jump him every time. You’re not sure if you want to smother him with bear hugs or wrestle him into submission. No wonder Stella keeps going back.

Oscar Raymundo is a writer based in San Francisco currently working on a futuristic gay love novel, ‘Confessions of a Boy Toy.’

AnnaSophia Robb will be Miss Teen Carrie Bradshaw in the upcoming CW series based on the Sex and the City protagonist and produced by The OC and Gossip Girl’s Josh Schwartz. 

Will AnnaSophia be able to pull off fabulous self-deprecation while running around 1980s Manhattan and juggling a jock boyfriend, gay bestie and mean girl arch-nemesis?

The series will be based on The Carrie Diaries, a prequel Candace Bushnell wrote for the money.

THE BEST GAYCITY OF 2011 [VOTE NOW!]

New York City: If New York is the city that never sleeps, then gay dwellers are its constant night owls. Ever since the Stonewall riots, the Big Apple has become an inextricable part of gay culture. And with the recent gay marriage win, New York has opened another chapter in the queer history books.

Madrid: Not only did Madrileños lead a victorious campaign to overturn a Spanish ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, but they also transformed Chueca, a former sex and drug trade neighborhood, into a glittery smorgasbord of gay life with bear bars, drag shows, and late-night discos.

Sao Paulo: It would be unfair to say that Sao Paulo has an emerging gay scene. Frankly, it’s fully erect. The city’s pride parade is one of the biggest in the world, drawing a crowd of over 3 million. Even during off-season the GLS scene (Brazilian slang for Gay, Lesbian & Sympathizers) is pumping.

New Orleans: Much like the city’s party scene, New Orleans is gay-friendly nonstop with an gay(er) version of Mardi Gras: Southern Decadence. So bring out that open container and cheers to the city for making one hell of a Post-Katrina comeback.

London: With centuries-old architecture, the world’s best live theatre, and an all-around exorbitant cost of living, London was made for gay royalty. From the chic shops on Compton Street to the nocturnal dance dens in Vauxhall, the gay scene is as diverse as the city of 300 languages.

Tel Aviv: Welcome to Israel’s modern life. The gay capitol of the Middle East is as exotic as it is welcoming. Tel Aviv mixes European nightlife, Asian culture, and Mediterranean c’est la vie attitude. Each month, the city embraces a different celebration with June being gay pride – a parade leading to a giant beach party. 

Mexico City: Although Mexico is deeply conservative, reined in by the Catholic Church, the capitol continues to shine as the crown jewel of gay equality. In 2010 the city’s municipal legislative assembly allowed for same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court upheld gay adoptions. 

Toronto: How many gay villages does one city need? In Toronto’s case, the more the merrier. The historical gay merchant Alexander Wood would be proud of the queer home his city has become. No surprise this Canadian metropolis will be the first North American host of WorldPride in 2014.

Immediate Family: In 1992 photographer Sally Mann courted controversy after her exhibition featuring photos of her children - nude, bloody, and battered - as suggestive suicide tableaux. Some called it brilliant, while others viewed it as pornographic, exploitative, and harmful to the emotional development of Emmet, Jessie, and Virginia. When Emmet fell and his nose started bleeding, his mother immediately dashed to his side - to photograph him. Because Mann shot with a large-format camera, each sessions lasted longer than an hour. The black and white, youthful nude in the wilderness aesthetic went on to be imitated and hyper sexualized by the clothing brand, Abercrombie & Fitch. 

In a sense, Mann was the ultimate artist: choosing to be a photographer over a mother, having subjects instead of children. Jessie continued to relentlessly photograph herself to much lesser critical acclaim and Emmet was rumored to have appeared in gay pornographic films. The Mann children, it appears, never grew out of being the camera’s eternal subjects.