Thursday, June 23, 2022

Michael's Musings

Hey Ricky!
Michael Shinafelt

Happy Still Pride Month Minions! How has yours been? Mine has been busy, not to mention full of Pride!!! 

So let's keep getting down with all our bad selves and continue feeling good about who we are. Pride is for everyone I say - I need to motor, got a call from Ricky I need to take...

While not a fan of the films, finally rode the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, one word: WOW!!!

FYI Trent Reznor is just Phil Collins for Goth Kids

Peacocks are Chickens in drag, discuss

Belated Birthday wishes to OG Evil Dead actor Bruce Campbell

If the Proud Boys are so proud, why do they conceal their identities?!

Another belated Birthday shout out to artist extraordinaire the one, the only Cyndi Lauper!

When does the new season of Law & Order: SVU start, having withdrawals here...Bueller??? 

He's a ten, but he still thinks tricks are for kids

Woman Crush of the Week - Leah Remini for this photo which cleansed my Twitter timeline with the caption: She's My Muse 😂

I would like to host a parade for Shaye Moss and Lady Ruby

Update: I got a small amount of ______ in my eye. That's right Minions fill in the blank and give it a name

Cross your fingers, and if you're lucky it won't be you

Word of the Day: Radicalized (say it three times fast)

And now for something really scary...or perhaps not...

Stand Proud with me here -

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Hump Day & Chill

Chloe Sevigny & Hilary Swank 
Boys Don't Cry

Marching on with Pride Month today we are going to Hump Day & Chill to a film that truly earns the moniker "important" Kimberly Pierce's Boys Don't Cry. 

Hilary Swank plays transgender FTM Brandon Teena and won the first of two Oscars for her sensitive and deep portrayal of him. His love interest Lana is played by the equally great Chloe Sevigny. Their love on screen is tangible.

This is based on a true life story, here is how it goes:

"Young female-to-male transgender Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) leaves his hometown under threat when his ex-girlfriend's brother discovers that he's biologically female. Resettling in the small town of Falls City, Nebraska, Brandon falls for Lana (Chloë Sevigny), an aspiring singer, and begins to plan for their future together. But when her ex-convict friends, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendan Sexton III), learn Brandon's secret, things change very quickly."

So raise a glass and give a big Hump Day & Chill toasts to one of the best LGBTQ films ever made. Swank will astound you in this!

Boys Don't Cry on IMDb -

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171804/

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Summer Is Here!

It's the first day of Summer and nothing says fun in the sun to me like the movie Grease. Grease recently turned 40 on June 16th. I remember seeing it the Summer when it first came out in a theater and I was completely captivated and was ready to Born To Hand Jive when I left the theater and find me some Summer Lovin'!

Little did I know many years later when I went from being a young lad in Junior High ("Yes" I was in the7th grade when it came out) that I would eventually move to Los Angeles and attend a handful of to do's at Randal Kleiser's house, the director behind this classic.

Grease really captures every aspect of what Summer means to me, and I suspect many of you due to it's enduring appeal. 

So let's get systematic and hydromatic and try not to look at everyone like they are Sandra Dee.

Love your summer like Greased Lightning!!!

Grease on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_(film)  

Monday, June 20, 2022

It's Still Pride Month Minions

Ally
John Cena

Hello Minions, in case it has escaped your attention it is still Pride Month, like for all of June, totally. Thus I thought we should celebrate it this Monday June 20, 2022 with an ally who happens to be some tasty eye candy.

"Yes" that's John Cena proudly waving a Pride Flag. For those of you not in the know Mr. Cena has a gay brother and has been a supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Not to mention, well, he's a a stud and a half and one eighth. 

What a better way to kick off yet another week of Pride 2022 than with John and his kick ass support.

I ask you? Yeah, alright I know you aren't going to answer...

Chase the rainbow!!!

John on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena  

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Father's Day

Who's Your Daddy?

Today is the day we celebrate Fathers, Dads, Daddy's. "Yes" I know it's kind of cliche' commemorating this day with an meme from The Empire Strikes Back, but I happened to see it again recently on TV and it still holds up as a grand piece of filmmaking.

However the "twist" of Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker's Father, well honestly who didn't see that one coming? You merely have to be familiar with any sort of classic literature to be in the loop on that revelation.

So let's raise a light saber to all those Fathers out there and hope we cut no one's hand off!

Wookie Drop!

Father's Day on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day 

Saturday, June 18, 2022

"Escape"

Bobby Newberry & Fia Nyxx

Bobby Newberry and Fia Nyxx Offer an “Escape”

To The Dancefloor with Their Sexy New Summer Jam

Bobby Newberry and Fia Nyxx are out to make people dance, sweat, feel free, sexy and have a good time this summer.  Their new single, “Escape” is a scorcher of a dance record with sultry house elements, a disco infusion and a seriously hypnotic baseline.   “Honestly, I had been feeling a lot of pressure and stress from the world and everyday life,” Bobby Newberry explains when discussing the genesis of the song.  “I was hearing it a lot from friends too; how there is just always something draining our energy.”  He says he and Fia wanted to give party people a moment to drown out their troubles and re-energize their bodies with a good time.  They wrote and produced “Escape” with their mutual friend, Sam J Garfield.  “It’s about taking an emotional journey, letting go of the world and its problems, getting lost on the dancefloor and feeling alive.”  Bobby Newberry and Fia Nyxx’s “Escape” is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms.  The video is available on YouTube.

“The song writing experience was pretty magical,” Bobby Newberry recalls from his Los Angeles home.  “I had the idea for the hook and I kept singing it over and over with Fia, on continuous loop, while rallying Sam to hurry in with the house drop.   It was an incredible session.  The vibe between the three of us was electric. 

The energy resonates in the high voltage music video that accompanies the song.  Filmed at Sam J Garfield’s BlackRose Los Angeles, Newberry co-directed with Logan James who also shot the video.  Choreography is by Bobby Newberry, Taylor Knight and Robbie Blue.  

A shoulder injury sustained by Newberry nearly shut down production on the video.  “We had to adjust all the choreography and creative,” he explains.  “If you watch closely, I do ninety percent of the choreography with my left arm because my right shoulder was in pain.”  

Natalie Saidi styled the video and Bobby says the fashion became a whole character in itself.  “Natalie took us places we had never been, fashion wise.  She really made some iconic looks happen.”

His absolute favorite are the red pants with the flowing tulle.   “I could hardly move in them but they were incredible!” he laughs.

Bobby Newberry began his career in the music industry as a choreographer for Eminem.  He would go on to work with a string of the world’s top artists including Nicki Minaj, The Pussycat Dolls, Missy Elliot, and Lil’ Wayne.   His choreography work has been seen on TV in Dancing with the Stars and X-Factor.  In 2014, Bobby Newberry released his first single and music video, “Dirrty Up (featuring Jessie and The Toy Boys).”  It was soon after followed by his debut EP, The Newberry Special.

Fia Nyxx recently released her sophomore album, Red Umbrella.  In her music, Nyxx embraces a theatrical approach, embodying a brilliantly experimental clash of genres from rock to pop.    “Fia is passionate and rockstar glamorous with such an amazing falsetto register,” Newberry says.  “It was really fun to vocal produce her on this record.”  

Escape is the third single from Bobby Newberry’s upcoming EP.    The dancers in the “Escape” music video are Taylor Knight, Robbie Blue, Brynda Rowen, and Devin Neal.    

Follow Bobby Newberry on Instagram @ bobbynewberry  

Friday, June 17, 2022

Film Buff Friday: Cruising

In keeping with Pride Month I present to you a divisive film from the annals of the history of queer cinema, Cruising. No matter what your take on it, it is a culturally relevant film...

A crime thriller set against the backdrop of the 1970s leather scene, Cruising is a polarizing film with a complicated legacy. When it came out in 1980, mainstream audiences and gay rights activists alike were scandalized—the former due to the graphic sexuality and the latter on the grounds that it portrayed the LGBTQ community in a bad light. (By contrast, director William Friedkin alleges that much of New York’s leather/S&M community actively supported the film and participated en masse as extras.) In recent years, though, the film—which features Al Pacino as a New York cop who goes undercover in the city’s S&M scene to investigate a serial killer targeting gay men—has been reevaluated and is now considered by many as a classic. Love it or hate it, Cruising is a touchstone of queer cinema history.

Cruising on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruising_(film)