Manila Gay Guy

Here’s a short indie film (less than 10min) from Giraldi Media. Another reference to that book, “Now That You Know.” If your parents are fond of reading books, this might just be useful.

If the coming out process is difficult for gay people, it is often equally difficult for their parents. Confusion, anger, and fear frequently cause fathers and mothers of gay men and lesbians to disavow, strike out against, and even resent their children. For many parents, a child’s coming out feels like the ultimate rejection–not only of their dreams and hopes but of their own heterosexuality. In Now That You Know: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Their Gay and Lesbian Children, Betty Fairchild and Nancy Hayward–the mothers of, respectively, a gay man and a lesbian–have charted the rough seas that almost every parent of a gay person travels.

Fairchild and Hayward presume that homosexuality is a positive good, and that it is willful ignorance and homophobia that are moral wrongs. They also believe that families can and should love all members and that it is distraught or confused parents (not their gay offspring) who must change. Mixing common sense with a firm sense of social justice and love, the authors systematically address almost all of the problems faced by parents of gay people. Answering questions on religion, AIDS, health, children, alternative families, and sex, they make the complicated gay world–often a nightmare vision for “just out” parents of gays–not only manageable but happy and nurturing. –Michael Bronski (Amazon.com Review)

Video after the jump.
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Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

[Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching - translated by Stephen Mitchell]

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A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion:
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick’d thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.

[Shakespeare, Sonnet 20]
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How long ago was the release of the first Climax photo book? The makers sure took their time with the second one. X-Ray Media, which also publishes the “X-Ray” titles, are by now the masters in assembling flavors-of-the-moment Filipino men for portfolios of impeccable quality and steaminess. Photography, styling, design, packaging — all ace. Testicles, shafts, asses, pubic hair — present and in abundance. Only the cockheads are missing… You’d be hardpressed to find their bodies worshipped in richer textures. Like the first edition, Climax 2 is a beautiful celebration of flesh. It feels like a liberation by way of objectification. [Source]

For those outside the Philippines who are asking if I can help ship you a copy — I can try, but I would say the cost will be prohibitive (e.g., FedEx shipping to US costs approximately USD$30). [The most wise would be to have just 1 person in the US to buy in bulk and be the one to ship to the others who want to buy. Any volunteers?] Is it worth it the money and the shipping fees? I don’t know, only you, the one spending can make that judgment. I have my copy, just like “The Bakla Review,” and I’m surely not complaining. Hehehe!

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He was on my bed… passionately licking, sweating, moaning… – in my mind. Hehe! Here’s Josh Ivan Morales, as featured in the newest edition of Climax 2. I did not know Climax was this extreme! Woot! (Thanks to my cam’s flash, the censorable part got naturally glared out. Else I wouldn’t be able to post this photo here… alam ninyo namang conservative ang lola ninyo, hahaha!)

CLIMAX 2 is sold only through three retailers. These are (1) CV Magazine in Landmark Makati, (2) Dongskie (below QC MRT and Cubao MRT Walkway) and through (3) Filbars branches. Hilom Massage Center along Roces Avenue will also be selling copies starting next week. Alternatively, I am making several (limited) copies available for purchase online, especially for those who do not have the courage to buy the magazine in person. I plan to have it delivered wrapped very discreetly, para naman hindi ninyo ikahiya. (Payment is via Metrobank deposit, Paypal, or Western Union.) Order online through this form (click!)

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The notorious Climax Magazine sizzles yet again with another exciting edition, Climax 2, now featuring men of Philippine Independent Films: Josh Ivan Morales, Will Sandejas, Kristofer King, Gabriel del Rosario, Harry Laurel, and Andro Morgan.
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For the uninitiated, Zsazsa Zaturnnah is Carlo Vergara’s new Filipino superhero — who, sans the magical “bato,” is an ordinary barrio lass, este, gay parlorista. In the upcoming sequel, Ada (Zaturnnah’s alter ego) goes to Manila (thus the title, “Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa Kalakhang Maynila.”) While it is set as a superhero story, I maintain that Zsazsa Zaturnnah is more of a story of love and identity. It has touched me in many ways that’s why I make it a point to feature every bit of development of Zaturnnah’s story here in MGG.

Carlo Vergara has released the first “patikim” of the sequel by publishing the first 6 pages in his blog. Go read! And, Carlo, thanks! Many thanks!

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Carlo Vergara, creator of gay superhero Zsazsa Zaturnnah, is blessed with divine generosity and will be presenting the first few chapters of his new Zaturnnah book (“Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa Kalakhang Maynila”) as weekly online installments starting May 26, 2008. Watch out for it in Carlo Vergara’s blog!

Excited na akez!

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A beautiful quote from Ralph Marston. Have a great week, you all!

Be honest and authentic, and your confidence will grow. The more fully you realize that there’s no need to hide who you are, the more confident you’ll become in every endeavor. Approach each task with understanding and patience. Don’t let arrogance infect your attitude, for arrogance is a feeble imitation of confidence that drives real confidence away. Know where you are going and why. True confidence flows naturally from a clear sense of purpose.There is a solid, genuine confidence within you, and it can empower all that you do. Live and act to nourish and grow that confidence, and it will surely serve you well. (Ralph Marston)

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Summer is just around the corner. Ah, lots of great summer memories! Here’s an excerpt from Danton Remoto’s short story, “The Heart of Summer” which won Third Prize in the 2005 Philippines Free Press Literary Awards.

Then in the blue hour before dusk, I would pick up our red plastic pail and walk five houses away to the street corner to fetch water.

I would line up before the wooden carts full of drums, pails, and recycled gasoline containers. I carried only a pail, but I was too timid to elbow my way to the head of the line. The short, stocky men nudged each other’s ribs and exchanged stories: “Pare, Vodka Banana did it again in her latest penetration movie, Only a Wall Between Us.” The women gossiped about their movie idols: “Sharon’s legs are like a washerwoman’s paddle,” said one, whose varicose veins strained on her legs like netting. After a long wait, I finally reached the fire hydrant. From its open mouth gushed water whose pressure was so strong that it swirled round and round my pail, the foam spilling on the dry earth. Then, I walked back to the house where I carefully poured the water into the drum. Then back to the street corner. Again.

On my way back, darkness had already settled on the hills. The chickens would be roosting on the branches of the star-apple trees, and the cicadas would begin their eternal buzzing. When I reached the street corner again, a young man was standing at the head of the line. He wasn’t there when I left earlier. He must have asked his housemaid to stand in for him, and returned only when it was time to fill his drum.
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