Georgia's Queer History - Pasaquan

Pasaquan the colorful built environment by one of Georgia's earliest and certainly most colorful queer characters has been designed as a National Historic Site. The place is just magical, and the story of Eddie Martin or Saint EOM is one that has to be turned into a movie one day. It's just such a great story. A fourteen year old boy driven from his poor sharecroppers home in South Georgia for being "different" ends up in New York City in the midst of the Counter Cultural scene. A street hustler, turning tricks and telling fortunes, creating this extravagant persona. Constantly soaking in the art of the NY museums and cultural institutions.

When he comes back to South Georgia (The voices told him to) he started the Pasaquan compound built from common building materials but inspired by a kaleidoscope of culture blended into a mishmash of utopian fantasy.

I used to go down there quite a bit years ago, back when you could just wander around and still peak in the windows. There have been efforts to restore it and get it reopened, hopefully the new historic designation will help. A nice bit of Georgia history well deserving of preservation.

This is also a very important bit of queer history that we should all appreciate. The queer experience of building one's own world and colorful environment (including costumes) as a way of dealing with a harsh sometimes cruel world.

The High did a show on him years ago, there's a coffee table book and a film as well (the video below may be part of it - not sure).

I love in the video the local businessman referring to St. EOM as "not the marrying kind."

HISTORY OF A SIGN

This is a beautiful Mexican short that came out of the Cannes Film Festival this year. I found it on Eric Himan's blog. You should check out his website www.erichiman.com he's an out gay rocker, that's putting out some great music.
Here's the short.

Is it okay not to believe in heaven?

Just generally musing on religion, etc. Feeling very existentialist these days. I keep coming back to one of my main problems with orangized religion, with this whole ideal of heaven. That there is this great reward that makes all the suffering and righteous living worth the trouble. Shouldn't righteous living (and I mean living compassionately, lovingly, aware) be it's own reward? In some religions the most holy figures are the ones that on the cusp of enlightenment, at the very gates of paradise, refuse to go in and, decide instead to help others become enlightened. Why is it with Christianity getting in the pearly gates seems to be the be all/end all?



The Problem with Heaven

Ultimate carrot and stick
Either golden gates,
Or fire and brimstone.
Either paradise
Or the fiery pit.

We hold the seeds of
The divine within us
Why then wait
Until after death
To bloom?

We hold within us
Compassion, Love
Everything to
Make a paradise
On earth.

Why then so stingy
Holding blessings
So close
Is that not
Sin?

Palin - What Republican Really Think

I have to admit to something that's probably not exactly PC, one of my favorite bloggers is Andrew Sullivan Conversative Gay Boy. He does have great content and I always read his stuff. He does harken back to the "old school" conservatives which are all rolling in their graves today with where the Republican party has been led by the religous right wing and their cronies.

Following some of his links to various stories I ran across a pair of Republicans after having just tried to spin the Palin VP choice as best they can, don't realize their Microphones are still on after the segment - take a listen to what even the Republican Analyst are saying when they're not spinning for the camera.

Michel Gondry Tribute

In one of those "A-Ha" moments, I ran across much of Michel Gondry's work on U-tube. Have you ever found an unexpected common thread that tied up some of your favorite things? Without realizing the connection, turns out I've been a big fan of Michel Gondry and his work for years. What's amazing as well is that they were some of my favorite things from such dramatically different creative arenas. I was amazed to find that this one man tied them all together.

First one of my favorite movies, it was an engaging and challenging movie, and a visual and creative stunner (plus it didn't help that it starred sexy Gael García Bernal. Plus for extra pop culture kick it also starred Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of the lengendary French crooner Serge Gainsbourg.



Some of my favorite commercials and videos have also come from Michel Gondry, the list is too long to post, but this Smirnof ad is pretty representational. I've always loved this sort of surreal, fast cut, morphing approach. He's done work for Levi's, HP, and several European companies.



And how's this for a pop culture overdose, a piece by Michel Gondry, featuring Bjork playing a piano that drives a 70s spin art machine (I LOVED Spin Art!).



Then to top it all off, I find that he did my all-time favorite music video. It's a bit a classic from the Chemical Brothers. That at first glance just seems to be a camera pointed out a train window, then you realize that the light poles and various buildings are whizzing in time to the music. They apparently took hundreds of hours of footage from this train, then went through and picked the best ones, then did some major video editing to make this seamless video. Everytime you watch it you realize that almost every little thing in the video picks up some musical motif in the music.



Well enjoy!