Lone Wolves
I'm saving up for a slew of new releases coming up: Bloc Party, Lucinda Williams, Deerhoof (already out) and The Arcade Fire. So, it was a lean weekend. I saw Last King of Scotland - Forrest Whitaker gave one of the most chilling performances I have ever seen on film. Unfortunately, the friend I went with emailed me afterward, harping about the relationship between Amin and his doctor (a composite made up of about three real characters). She complained that gay writers were trying to use the movie to prove that Amin had homosexual tendencies. She basically said that gays were "ruining it" for the rest of the viewers - telling the audience that Amin was gay. A few things raised my internal alarms:
First one: Where the hell did she get her information? I GOOGLED 'Amin' and 'gay' and didn't find any major articles. She was basically saying that this was a mainstream belief. From what I researched, it amounted to a few stray bloggers. Hardly a mainstream belief.
Second: True, I feel a bit alienated from the gay community, but last time I checked, the gay folks I know who know who Idi Amin even is - aren't exactly chomping at the bits to claim him as "one of their own."
On to another subject - I had coffee today and my favorite coffee slinger in Omaha was moving. She had five or six guys and gals helping her move. It was hellishly cold today - so that's a huge statement. I remember when I moved: five people volunteered - and I had to struggle to get that number. Two eventually showed up.
The more I try to be sociable, the more desperate I appear. I've had this struggle all my life. But as I was reading the paper, sort of jealous of the outpouring of support this coffee slinger was getting on a Sunday, I thought of my circle of friends: and all of them tend to be on the 'loner' side. Not the "creepy 'he always kept to himself'" loner - more like the quirkyalone syle of loner.
One of my friends intentionally spent New Year's Eve alone - listening to LastFM. A few other of my friends take an almost Hurculean effort to get them out to see a show on a weeknight. As I turn 32 (I need to update my blog bio) - and a new move comes up hopefully to either Austin or Portland - I seriously think about the growing difficulty of forming a new circle of friends at this age. Most folks this age are settled (though more and more are not getting married), and you're at that age where you're too old to hang out with the scenesters (those early 20-somethings).
First one: Where the hell did she get her information? I GOOGLED 'Amin' and 'gay' and didn't find any major articles. She was basically saying that this was a mainstream belief. From what I researched, it amounted to a few stray bloggers. Hardly a mainstream belief.
Second: True, I feel a bit alienated from the gay community, but last time I checked, the gay folks I know who know who Idi Amin even is - aren't exactly chomping at the bits to claim him as "one of their own."
On to another subject - I had coffee today and my favorite coffee slinger in Omaha was moving. She had five or six guys and gals helping her move. It was hellishly cold today - so that's a huge statement. I remember when I moved: five people volunteered - and I had to struggle to get that number. Two eventually showed up.
The more I try to be sociable, the more desperate I appear. I've had this struggle all my life. But as I was reading the paper, sort of jealous of the outpouring of support this coffee slinger was getting on a Sunday, I thought of my circle of friends: and all of them tend to be on the 'loner' side. Not the "creepy 'he always kept to himself'" loner - more like the quirkyalone syle of loner.
One of my friends intentionally spent New Year's Eve alone - listening to LastFM. A few other of my friends take an almost Hurculean effort to get them out to see a show on a weeknight. As I turn 32 (I need to update my blog bio) - and a new move comes up hopefully to either Austin or Portland - I seriously think about the growing difficulty of forming a new circle of friends at this age. Most folks this age are settled (though more and more are not getting married), and you're at that age where you're too old to hang out with the scenesters (those early 20-somethings).
posted by TransformerGeek at 6:46 PM
3 Comments:
Idi Amin is thought of as a tyrant, not as a homosexual. I've never heard that gay rumour before.
FYI- The new Bloc Party is kinda weak. I've been playing the single on my show, but the record is not as strong as the EP for sure and the 1st album, either.
Yeah, I'm almost positive the gay rumour is false. I was basically more pissed she was paying more attention to a few fringe gay group reactions to the film as opposed to Amin's brutal legacy.
One person I've talked to from Homer's loves the new Bloc Party - said it was better than the first. Another person said it was o.k. - judging by your taste, I trust your judgment. Critical buzz hasn't been too kind to the latest flock of releases (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bloc Party, The Shins etc.)
Yeah. It doesn't suck (the Bloc Party). I think the 1st EP was amazing, the first CD was pretty good, and the new one is...less than pretty good.
I've only heard the new CYHSY single and I kinda liked it. I've never really seen what the big deal was about The Shins.
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