January 25, 2008

Profile pic of the week

I’m listening to “Campaigner” from “Decade” by Neil Young.

Technorati Tags: gay sex, gay.com

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Online at 10:31 AM
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Public toilet love

Former porn star, would-be pop star, Colton Ford sings a love song through a gloryhole! Sadly, it’s a typical American Idol-style vocal performance which, come to think of it, makes it even funnier. He’s got some other stuff posted, too, if you want to watch him rip his shirt off while dancing in front of that same warehouse wall.

I’m listening to “Carry Go Bring Come” from “BBC Radio 1 Live” by The Selecter.

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Posted by HighStrungLoner in Gay at 10:01 AM
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January 24, 2008

Heaven

Now available on Amtrak.

I’m listening to “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” from “John Wesley Harding” by Bob Dylan.

Technorati Tags: amtrak, train, travel

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Crap at 4:15 AM
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Porn, Day 2: On the set

I was asked to arrive the set at 1PM, an hour before the cast in order to set up the lights and coordinate with the other cameraman. I hadn’t met him. The producer said he was an interesting guy and had worked on Project Runway. He was quite a character, a combination of John Lovitz and the comic book store guy on The Simpsons, very stagehand-y and straight, to boot.

We shot in a room in a Chelsea B&B. The lovely garden area in the back reminded me of Rear Window. The room had bright yellow walls with white trim and an equally bright yellow and white bureau. The decor was incredibly Brady Bunch. I loved it. There was a granny-type quilt on the bed, too, which was even less hot than the decor so we flipped it over a bit. This revealed some mysterious white crusty bits on the tan blanket. Ew.

There were nine guys in the cast and five production people so it got kind of tight with everyone’s clothes, coats and bags on the floor and various cords, cables and lights everywhere.

Weirdly, there were two large gift baskets from “friends,” one with mostly chocolates and the other with Starbucks products. We learned on the last shoot which was nicely catered that porn actors live, at least while performing, on protein bars, bananas and Gatorade, so there was no big spread this time, dammit. Any crew, as I learned long ago when I was a stagehand, will eat anything. I hadn’t had breakfast and this gluten thing makes it difficult to just grab something to eat, even in New York, so I was grateful for the candy. So was Jon Lovitz. He took some home—“for the wife,” of course.

Once the action started we realized that the bed was going to be a problem. The mattresses were very lightweight and the frame was on wheels. As soon as the first guys started fucking on it, it started rolling around. We had to remove the frame completely. The script, which contained the hilarious typo telling someone to “moan loadly,” was all about “double penetration.” Unfortunately, with the wheels and frame gone, the bed was down so low that double penetration was more or less impossible in the way the director wanted it. Three guys in a row tried and they had to contort themselves so much they they couldn’t stay hard. The script called for two bottoms to be doubly penetrated simultaneously and that obviously wasn’t gonna happen. We took a short break after each guy made his attempt at DP and after one of the bottoms literally vomited from gagging on a dick. Now we took a much longer break.

The director threw out the script and decided that this would have to be a free-form orgy. He insisted that DP would happen, though, and instructed the actors to make sure the cameramen were aware of it when it occurred. With the cast left to their own devices and without the gymnastics involved in the original scenario, we got lots of DP. I could tell that some of the actors obviously needed direction since they didn’t involve themselves as much as some of the others. Maybe they figured that now they had permission to only have sex with the guys they were attracted to and they weren’t attracted to anyone. Who knows?

The guys kept having to be reminded to be vocal since this film isn’t going to have any music. I’m not a big fan of “porno-mouth” either in movies or when I’m actually fucking so I’m not the best judge of dirty talk. The guy who seemed most into it had a limited inventory of phrases and an NPR-type voice. I just couldn’t get used to it.

We filmed each cum shot twice, first with the cameras on the actual cum and again filming the actor’s face while he faked it. Now that’s acting! After watching this five or six times, I’m sure it will seem obvious to me now whenever I watch porn.

We had nine guys in the cast and I think all of them got a cum shot in. The weird thing was, though, that when it was time to do them, four of the guys had to stand in the kitchen watching porn before they could shoot. I know at least one of them was watching himself! Hey guys!! You’re in a room with eight other porn stars. Isn’t that enough?

This is the most grueling part of the shoot for me. Everyone sits around waiting and waiting and as soon as someone’s ready to shoot their load everyone runs back into position. It’s pretty wacky and it surprises me that it’s at all convincing to watch but it is.

At one point during the day we had to quickly consolidate all of the extraneous crap that people had brought in with them just to get it out of the shot. There was a backpack in the corner and I threw a heavy pair of boots on top of it along with several other things. Later in the day one of the actors brought the backpack onto the bed and unzipped it. Two tiny dogs in grey hoodies ran out of it! I felt awful that I had thrown a pair of boots at them. They ran around completely quietly for a couple of minutes and went willingly back into their case. They came out again when we were done and their owner added sherpa jackets and harnesses that looked to me like bullet-proof vests. I have to agree with the guy who said the dogs were really adorable and very gay.

Seven hours and we were done. I headed over to meet a guy in the flatiron district but more about that another time.

I’m listening to “Heart Shaped Bruise” from “The Delivery Man” by Elvis Costello & The Imposters.

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Posted by HighStrungLoner in Gay at 3:14 AM
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January 22, 2008

Porn, Day 1: Hotel

I am in NYC this week because I was hired to run a video camera for a couple of porn shoots. We’ll be filming in Chelsea on Wednesday and Friday but the cast and crew are staying at a Days Inn in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn. Sounds pretty, no? I was a little concerned when I saw these pictures. The one on the left is from Google Maps Street View and was a little disturbing. What really threw me, though, was the one on the left, from the hotel’s own web site, showing the “lobby” with the staff behind bullet-proof glass like you’d see at a pawn shop or a chinese take-out restaurant!! Not to mention the fact that I just knew I’d never get laid in such a godforsaken wilderness. I mean, what good is being in New York if you can’t maximize your online cruising time, huh??

It took me almost an hour to get there from Penn Station and the walk from the subway is pretty steeply uphill but the hotel itself was actually acceptable—after the elevator decided to work, that is. When I first got there it refused to go past the third floor and the desk clerk was hemming and hawing about giving me something on a lower floor. (I have emphysema and stairs are not my friends.) After ten minutes of futzing and the maintenance guy running up and down, repeatedly proclaiming that it was now operational when it clearly wasn’t, it made the complete trip a few times and I decided I could safely ascend to the sixth floor without worry. The room was just fine, if a little small—even smaller than the room I had at the New York (formerly Ian Schrager) Hudson which until today was the tiniest room I’d ever paid for outside of a bathhouse. (I’ve had bigger rooms at some bathhouses.)

The neighborhood is really pretty cool and literally colorful. There is a warehouse-sized laundromat across the street, a decent 24-hour diner on the corner and a branch of my bank on another corner. There are also a slew of wonderful bodegas on 5th Avenue, unfortunately another steep climb. They have great stuff, including tons of bananas that are actually large, ripe and delicious. The guys who work behind the counters are unfailingly polite and friendly and hot. Try finding any of those qualities in a Center City Philly food store! Other than the below freezing temperatures and the uphill climb for food, this ain’t gonna be so bad. I have a couple of “dates” already lined up, too.

I'm not sure what’s happened to the NYC subway system but it seems hellishly slow to me, not just the wait but the actual speed of the trains. It really seemed to me that I could have walked faster than the train was running today. Maybe it was a fluke. I sure hope so. What a nightmare.

I’m listening to “Editions of You” from For You Pleasure by Roxy Music.

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Posted by HighStrungLoner in Gay at 3:05 PM
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January 18, 2008

Lukewarmly blogworthy

I’ve written about this guy here and here. We played at the Adonis a few times and again at his place. We had this conversation, apparently our last, a few days ago:

cc_ital3: hi
HighStrungLoner: hey!
cc_ital3: how r u?
HighStrungLoner: not bad. you?
cc_ital3: good thanks. i'm hoping to get together again
HighStrungLoner: that'd be cool
cc_ital3: ok, good
cc_ital3: when u free?
HighStrungLoner: always. not awake before noon though
cc_ital3: ok. well let me know then. sorry to bother u
HighStrungLoner: not bothering me.
cc_ital3: um, k
HighStrungLoner: i hardly ever take the initiative, though. just how I am, nothing personal
cc_ital3: i know. that's why i did but u gotta meet me in the middle or i think that u r not into it
HighStrungLoner: ok. if you're looking for now, tho, i'm not into it.
cc_ital3: ugh. again, real sorry. night
HighStrungLoner: ok. night
cc_ital3: well i'm sure this will make your blog, but i'm done. i try and try with you but all i get is lukewarm responses. so i am sorry that i did and i will not try again. ciao

What can I say? A lukewarm request got a lukewarm response. I could be wrong but meaning “Let’s fuck now” and saying “i'm hoping to get together again” seems counterproductive to me. I’m not fucking Criswell, you know. Besides he and I made firm plans at least twice last year and he never bothered answering the phone. (Wednesday nights at 9 PM after I was done at the LGBT Archives.) Can you blame me for not getting excited a the prospect of being flaked on again?

Anyway, you got your wish. You’re in my blog again. Happy now?

I’m listening to “Everyone Lies” from Loudness by Loudness.

Technorati Tags: chat, gay, gay sex, gay.com

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Chat at 4:58 AM
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WTF?

I joined Fbuds recently. It’s new and not very busy yet but it didn’t take me long to encounter my first complete jerkoff. Is it me or are they becoming more numerous and/or brazen? This is our e-mail exchange in its entirety:

LEATHERBEARDAD: wanna put my hand in ur ass, daddy.. HighStrungLoner: Thanks for the thought but that will never happen. LEATHERBEARDAD: why not...u look like EVERYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN IN UR HOLE...INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK..

Well, thanks. That’ll get you laid for sure.

I’m listening to “Beach Chair (Featuring Chris Martin)” from Kingdom Come by Jay-Z.

Technorati Tags: chat, gay, gay sex, online profiles, fbuds.com

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Online at 2:05 AM
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January 17, 2008

Man of the week

I don’t know who this is or even how I acquired his picture but I love him. (Click on him for a larger version of the picture.)

I’m listening to “Trains and Boats and Planes” by Billy J. Kramer from The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 4.

Technorati Tags: gay, online profiles

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Men at 1:37 AM
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January 12, 2008

Profile pic of the week

Don’t ask me ’cause I don’t know nothin’ about this guy.

I’m listening to “Wrapped Around the Screw” from Contemplating the Engine Room by Mike Watt.

Technorati Tags: chat, gay, gay sex, online profiles, scat

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Online at 10:40 PM
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WYSP hates you

A poorly faked Ozzy Osbourne was “interviewed” on WYSP’s unbearably annoying Kidd Chris show Thursday morning. All they could manage were some lame gay jokes about WMMR and Pierre Robert in particular. Why is this still acceptable?

I’ve edited out most of the juvenile giggling:

You can grab the whole thing here if you’re interested but, trust me, it’s not worth it.

I’m listening to “Magoo” from Mostly Ape by Drums & Tuba.

Technorati Tags: gay, music, philadelphia

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Gay at 8:39 PM
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January 11, 2008

Morgan Spurlock

I remember seeing Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me in this outfit and thinking he looked like a natural. It was in the opening sequence of the first episode of his great 30 Days series on FX and I hadn’t seen it since it was originally broadcast. I grabbed these screen shots from hulu.com which kind of sucks but it’s got lots of vintage and current NBC shows for free with fucking commercials. (By the way, this kind of site is exactly what the writers who are on strike are asking to be—and should be—paid for.) Anyway, I’ve heard through the internets (and The Crusher) that he dumped that vegan girl a while back and became a Friend of Dorothy which we knew he was all along, didn’t we?

I’m listening to “N-er-gize me” from Cosmetic 12'' Single by Cosmetic ft. Jamaaladeen Tacuma.

Technorati Tags: gay, TV

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Men at 3:24 AM
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January 7, 2008

Man of the week

Just a guy from Atlanta on Manhunt. Ain’t he handsome?? (Click on the pics for larger versions.)

I’m listening to “Stingray: Main Theme” by The Barry Gray Orchestra from Brain In A Box (Disc 2 - TV Themes)

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Men at 9:36 PM
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January 6, 2008

What-EV-rrr!

I’m still in Atlanta. Keith is doing so well that I felt I could go out on Friday night without feeling like I was abandoning him. He agreed and handed me the keys to his car.

Earlier in the day I chatted online with Anthony, a Latin guy. That’s his beautiful ass there on the left. We’ve been wanting to get together for a couple of months and luckily we were both available Friday night. He called around 6:45. (I don’t know why but, even after all the time I’ve spent in Atlanta, I’m still surprised when guys have southern accents!) He said he was going out for drinks at Blake’s with a couple of friends and asked if we could get together at 9:00. I didn’t have a problem with that but after I hung up I said to Keith, “How much you want to bet this guy doesn’t call anytime near nine o’clock?” He pooh-poohed my cynicism.

I was right. At 11:30 I got in the car intending to go to the Atlanta Eagle for a bit and then to Flex baths. The phone rang when I was only a block from the apartment. Anthony asked if it was too late and I said no but I could tell he was pretty drunk, just as I expected. He said he’d call back when he got home which he must have been standing right outside of because less than two minutes later the phone rang again. I told him I could tell he was drunk, sloppy even, which he denied and I said that I would rather not play. I got off the phone quickly. He called back immediately. I told him that I didn’t really want to talk while I was driving, especially in a city I don’t know very well. I said, “I’m hanging up now,” and I did even though he was still talking. He called right back again! I didn’t answer. Of course he had to leave a message. Here it is:

After finally remembering to listen to it a few hours later I was really glad I didn’t get together with him and would have been even if he didn’t say that he was late because he stayed to see the drag show!

“What-EV-rrr!”

I’m listening to “Alive and Kicking” from Themes by Simple Minds.

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Chat at 9:38 PM
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January 4, 2008

Visionary

There’s a great article about Paul Thomas Anderson in today’s New York Times. It’s right on-the-money. He’s really cute, too. That’s him on the right with Daniel Day-Lewis.

I’m listening to “Staring At the Sun” from Joy: 1967-1990 by Ultra Vivid Scene.

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Film at 12:06 PM
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January 2, 2008

Breakfast of Champions

Thank god for Kroger’s supermarket in Atlanta. I’m here again for a week staying with my friend Keith. (left) He’s still doing that awful chemo thang and we’re doing some work together. I’m designing a web site promoting a series of films he’s currently editing. The good news—make that GREAT news— is, after a PET scan the other day and with only one treatment left, his Dr. said his cancer is officially in remission! Can I hear an “AMEN?” He’s so tired of being sick and I can’t blame him. It’ll be over soon, though. It’ll sure be great to not have to be so nice to him all the time anymore, either. It’s so exhausting.

Anyways, back to Kroger’s…despite Keith’s relative weakness today, we took the short drive to Kroger’s because he wanted me to get some food that fit into my god-damned gluten-free fucking diet. Keith’s wonderful mother has cooked enormous amounts of food, frozem them and brought them to Atlanta for him but, as incredibly delicious as that food is, there is quite a bit of it that I can’t eat. (I swear, I’d kill for a biscuit and gravy right now. KILL!!)

The one thing I miss most is pizza. Amy's has an acceptable frozen one with a rice flour crust. It's pretty delicious. I'm not sure it’s pizza-like in any way other than it’s form but it’ll do. In their overzealous desire to be “healthy” they somehow figured their product should also be non-dairy. I’m not sure what the cheese is made of but it barely melts, even under the broiler as suggested. For chrissake, at least give me some real cheese!! To my surprise, Kroger’s had this particular pizza in their frozen food case! I bought two.

After that I found the Holy Grail of gluten-free products: Redbrige gluten-free beer!! I couldn’t believe my luck.I bought a six-pack. Unfortunately, it’s made by Anheuser-Busch, but it’s pretty fucking tasty even though it’s made from sorghum. I was thrilled.

So…I got to start the new year with pizza and beer. What could be better??

I’m listening to “Wilhelmina” from Hollywood Dream by Thunderclap Newman.

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Health at 4:32 AM
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