The Far Country

I hadn't ever heard of this movie until a couple days ago when I saw that Encore was running a "six-gun salute" to Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy Stewart being one of my favorite actors, I set the DVR to record it.

It's not he greatest western ever made, but it's not bad. But what struck me about this movie is that I'm fairly sure that, 50-some years before "Brokeback Mountain," this movie featured a couple of gay cowboys.

Jimmy Stewart and Walter Brennan speak often about their plans to buy a little house in Utah and "settle down" together.  Stewart's character has a bell on his saddle that Brennan's character bought for him, planning to hang it on the door of their house to let them know when visitors arrive. "It's a pretty small bell" says Renee (One of two women in love with Stewart) "Well, it's gonna be a pretty small house." answers Brennan.
At the end of the movie, when Renee leans in to kiss Jimmy Stewart, and the music swells dramatically, Stewart turns away, walks over to his horse and wistfully fiddles with the bell given to him by the now-dead Walter Brennan. He's clearly heartbroken and not at all interested in making kissy-face with Renee, or with Ruth Roman, from whom he also walked away when she tried to kiss him.

 

That's right. THIS did not impress him!

Plus, three times in the movie, Jimmy Stewart reaches into Walter Brennan's pocket, pull out his pipe, puts it in Brennan's mouth and lights it for him. It's a very loving gesture, especially when, as he is doing this, he says to Brennan "I can take care of me. And in a pinch, I can take care of you, too."

 

It's much more romantic than it looks in this picture.

The screenplay was written by Borden Chase and the film was directed by Anthony Mann. I can't find a whole lot of biographical information on either of them, so I don't know if either or both were gay or not, not that that would necessarily matter, I mean, I don't think Ang Lee is gay either.

Anyway, if anyone has seen The Far Country, I'd love to know what you think. Were Stewart and Brennan acouple, or am I just reading too much into their friendship? Because if I'm right, this film would be pretty groundbreaking and it's definitely not getting any credit for it.

 

Flashback Friday - Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper

Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper burst out of the Southern California Rockabilly/Cowpunk scene in the early 1980's with a string of albums featuring Mojo on vocals and guitar and percussionist Skid Roper on everything from washboard to washtub bass. Mojo was the spiritual descendant of Hasil Adkins with bits of John Lee Hooker and Howlin Wolf for good measure but his sound and lyrical worldview were uniquely his.

I never did get to see Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper perform, but I did see Mojo Nixon and the Toadliquors at Slim's in San Francisco, and I saw Mojo perform as part of the Pleasure Barons somewhere in San Jose. He was a consumate showman and hopefully still is.

This is only going to get worse.

These people are scum.

Cops: Video shows 2 men placing Confederate flags at Ebenezer

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Small Confederate flags were found Thurs., July 30, 2015, at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta —

Atlanta police said surveillance footage shows two men placing Confederate flags at two of Atlanta’s most notable landmarks early Thursday: Ebenezer Baptist Church and Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site Visitor Center.

Ever since Confederate flags finally started coming down, a segment of the white population has somehow decided that something valuable is being taken away from them and they're going to fight back.
So far, it hasn't been violent, not that I know of anyway, but last week, this also happened, and also in Georgia (sigh).

Confederate flag wavers caught yelling racist slurs at black kid’s birthday party insist they’re not hateful

Bethania Palma Markus
29 Jul 2015 at 12:32 ET                   

Confederate flag wavers taunt black Georgia birthday party guests as they drive away (Screenshot/YouTube)

Armed white Confederate flag supporters clashed with attendees of a black child's birthday party in Douglasville, Georgia, over the weekend, culminating in a tense standoff between the two groups and a threat from the Confederate battle flag-bearing band that they would "kill y'all n****rs."

"One had a gun, saying he was gonna kill the [racial slur]. Then one of them said gimme the gun, I'll shoot them [racial slur]," party organizer Melissa Alford told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adding the trucks had passed by several times before stopping in a field next to her house.

Oh, but don't worry. They aren't hateful. Like at all.

A group of white men said they were the ones victimized after being accused of disrupting a black child’s birthday party in Georgia while flying Confederate flags from their pickup trucks, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Because of course. Of course they're victims. Nothing happened to these guys. None of them got hurt. One guy did get arrested, but, as the police report states, that was for an un-related charge.




But somehow, they are still able to see themselves as "victims." They haven't had their precious flags taken away. They haven't lost the right to fly them in public. But if there is maybe a bit of societal disapproval for flying the banner of a nation that went to war with the United States in order to try to preserve the institution of slavery, they somehow feel that they're - I don't know, losing their place at the top of the societal food chain? Or something? I don't know, but they seem to feel threatened in some way.
And these cro-magnons are not going to go gently into the dustbin of history. They thrive on rage, resentment and paranoia. And they're heavily armed.
This is only going to get worse.

In Tennessee, Sgt. Briscoe, a 17-year Army veteran and African-American woman, was harassed by two white men in a pickup truck similarly adorned with Confederate flags. While driving past her family at her home, the truck slowed down and the men called them “m*therf*cking n***ers.”

We need a new Australia

We need some sort of desert island where we can send people who are not exactly criminals, or bad people, but need to be removed from decent society.
People like:

1. People who smoke at the beach



Oh, hey, thanks for that, buddy. I was so tired of smelling that clean salty air. Hey, if it's not too much trouble could you maybe stand right in front of me to block my view of the water and shriek curse words to cover the sound of the waves?

2. People who respond to the question "how you doin'?" with "I'm blessed!"

 
 Yeahhhh. . . I was just making small talk. Didn't really sign up for a sermon, there Reverend.


3. Marketers who use the "Peace symbol, Heart, Product" template.

It's not funny, it's not clever, it's certainly not original. And it's kinda shitty to be coopting the concepts of peace and love to sell some stupid product.

Also, whoever is making and/or wearing those "Keep Calm and. . ." T-shirts.




Just stop it. It's not amusing. It's just annoying. And it's a frivolous use of the slogan that was an attempt to help Londoners get through the Blitz.


4. People who put "I Love my Kids" stickers on their cars.




Oh, do you? You love your kids, do ya? Really? Wow, what a fucking accomplishment! You've managed to achieve an emotional state mastered only by every living creature except goldfish and Susan Smith! Well, where's your parade? How have they not built a statue of you yet? I can surely see how you'd take such pride in this state of affairs that you'd want all the other commuters to know what a fine fine human being you are!


5. These people






These people who can't get on a bicycle without putting on the entire Greg LeMonde ensemble like they're in the Tour de France.
Look, it's perfectly admirable that you're biking to work. It's great that you're choosing a zero-emission vehicle and improving your health and probably having some fun. But you're commuting. You're not qualifying for the Olympics. You really need to shave that tenth of a second off your time to Globotech?
People have been riding bicycles for over a century. And for most of bicycling history, they've done it dressed like this.

You don't need a special bicycle-riding outfit.
No one needs to see you in neck-to-knee spandex, no matter how in shape you are. 
You don't have to wear some ridiculous get-up that makes you look like a rejected superhero prototype. In fact, you don't need to wear anything at all.



So who else? Who else needs to be sent to an island? Leave your nominees in the comments and we'll start rounding them up.


And for the record, I know Australia was not a deserted island. I know that there were people already living there when the Brits started shipping prisoners there and that those people were and still are treated very badly by the Brits. I know.

How Was I not Invited?

JUL24     Heterosexual Parade

Public · Hosted by Anthony Rebello

We all have the right to celebrate the way of life we have chosen for ourselves. In the name of equality & equal rights, I have created this event to celebrate our right to be heterosexual, and to encourage younger heterosexuals that they should be proud of their heterosexuality (:

What, did my invitation get lost in the mail?
I'm Heterosexual.
I have pride.
I love Parades.
And I have to assume that the hetero parade has gotta be a flashy, splashy celebration of all things hetero!
Like this?

Sports and Boobies. Yep, that's it in a nutshell!

Although. . . now that I think about it, has our right to be heterosexual ever been challenged? Why is this parade really necessary?

There is a lot of negativity pouring in from the gay, bisexual, transgender communities. Kin of a double standard if you ask me. We mean no harm by celebrating. This is a positive event for heterosexuals. If you don't like the fact that we are having a parade to celebrate our beliefs, feel free to show up and protest. We are doing nothing more than celebrating what we believe in, and do not appreciate discrimantion from any other groups. We are not discriminating, simply celebrating our right to be heterosexual 

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• Mary Jo CT Stand straight and tall forever Son/Brother.

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Stanley Wallings well as hetero's are the minority I feel sad for him come to Europe we have blonde angels who like men ...

 Oh, right. I forgot about all the imaginary negativity and fictitious discrimination! Of course!

So, anyway, sorry I missed it. How was the turnout?

One person? One hetero person showed up for hetero pride day?



Oh, I'm sorry. I should really take this more seriously. It certainly must have been a rough day for. . .




I'm sorry, I just can't. I can't keep a straight face.
So to speak.