OMG – this 13 year old kid is amazing. Check out the audience reactions as they realize this kid can really sing. Thanks to Brenton over at Aussielicious and Dave over at WGB for bringing this to my attention. My school recitals were nothing like this.
Last year I posted a video I first saw on WGB in my entry, The gays love their close-ups. Well the adorable guy who writhed on the sand lip synching to the catchy Backstreet Boy’s tune, “I want it that way” has quite a few videos on his Youtube profile as it turns out. You can see the full list here – Linsbrothers.In the video below, Ben Lins teams up with his buddy, Jimmy Culotta, in a Tik Tok parody. The pop song is annoying in that once you hear it you can not seem to get it out of your head for the rest of the day, but it is still fun to watch.
Earlier today I heard the song Jumper by Third Eye Blind and it brought me back to when I first moved to Boston from Atlanta. At the time, I was still closeted and trying to come to terms with my sexuality. Having the benefit of hindsight, I can see now that I was sort of a ticking time bomb. No wonder I always related to the chorus of the song. Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand, I would understand
How strange is it that lyrics written by another and meant for someone else can become so intensely personal? I can remember feeling like the chorus was an existential conversation I was having with myself. When I heard the song today, many memories (both happy and sad) flooded back, and I thought I’d write about it before the feeling of de ja vu faded.
Full lyrics on elyrics.net
About Third Eye Blind
Isn’t it funny the power music can have? When I was driving today this song came on the radio and it made me think of a good friend who recently broke up with a guy she had been dating. You can read her dating chronicles on her blog, My quest to find a husband. Although I’ve no doubt she’s heard this song countless times, I’m going to suggest that she listen to this song by Michael Buble for therapy.
One of the reasons I started my blog was to record my thoughts and with the year drawing to a close I wanted to include a retrospective. This includes some of the places I’ve been fortunate enough to visit, interesting things that have happened and pictures from 2009.
Although there were no Broadway shows this year, I still managed to see all sorts of performances ranging from the funny Pam Ann who started her U.S. tour here in Boston to the beautiful performance from the Alvin Ailey Ballet. All told I believe I probably saw 6-8 plays and musicals (including a very bawdy drag show at the Sydney Opera House). Although its not quite Masterpiece Theater, here is my favorite video from YouTube in 2009.
I travelled a bit this year too. I started 2009 in a very snowy Provincetown with Dr. Sergio and his boyfriend at the time. The drive will be memorable if only because it took us 7 hours to drive through the blizzard to get there. I went back to Cape Cod three more times – Provincetown in May and July and Brewster in October for my cousin’s wedding. I also visited Ogunquit, ME staying with friends on both visits in July and October (for halloween).
I also hopped on a plane a few times in 2010 and visited three new destinations: Puerto Rico in late January, Austin, TX in October and Australia in November & December.
Changes in 2009
This year my cousin Bill passed away. His passing was relatively sudden which in hindsight was a blessing since he did not suffer much and he did live a full and happy life so even though I’ve thought of him often in recent months it has been mostly wistful memories rather than sad thoughts.
I was also sad to see my Senator, Ted Kennedy, pass this year. Many despised the man but I have nothing but admiration for him. I recall seeing him speak when he received the Gerry Studds award from Fenway Health in 2008. I miss having such a powerful voice in Washington, D.C. Truly the GLBT community was dealt a horrible blow when his voice was silenced. I think his leadership has been sorely missed in the Senate these past few months as Congress struggles to enact meaningful health reform and expand coverage.
Fortunately, this year has not been about missing those who have passed. A lot of excellent changes were welcomed into my life as well, but probably the highlight was the birth of my niece Abby Dion. She is quite adorable. My parents built a second home up in the lakes region of New Hampshire and construction more or less finished in August. This was a dream they shared for quite some time and seeing them make this a reality is really wonderful. It also shows me that through a lot of hard work (and a bit of luck for sure) dreams no matter how large are attainable – and in this case it was a big dream. Mom & Dad’s Lake House
Other things of note
This is sort of my catch-all to comment on all sorts of things, and one thing that I need to record (although I’ve not forgotten) is that in January 2009 I celebrated my 10th anniversary with my partner. We both have strong wills, short fuses and a flair for the dramatic so if I were a casual observer waging on this relationship at the start, I’m not sure I would have bet it would have lasted beyond its first year – let alone an entire decade.
My other half had his parents join us for 3 weeks this summer and I was sorry to see them leave at the end of their stay. I do feel a sense of guilt that my partner lives so far away from his family, but I feel this sense of separation with his parents is hardest of all so I do love having them with us and enjoy spending time in Brazil visiting.
Something else I wanted to comment upon and had previously posted is my cousin Matt’s book Lifeguard on Duty. This was his first book and it was a labor of love for sure. He is fast at work on his next project which I’m sure will be quite beautiful.
Thank you for the memories 2009… I look forward to 2010.
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More videos from this show which was recorded on Friday, December 4th at the Sydney Opera House are available on the BosGuy YouTube Page. You can also double click on this image to make it larger for better viewing.
Sunday I woke to find Boston covered in a thick blanket of snow. The city was absolutely picture perfect and despite my dislike of the cold, it definitely put me in the holiday spirit. Considering its just a few days ’til Christmas, a holiday flavored posting seems in order.
I’ve included a clip from one of the numbers from Drag – Camp as Christmas – the drag show I saw at the Sydney Opera House. I only wish we were able to record the entire number from the fabulous drag queen, Tess Tickle. Check out how she holds on to her wig while she jing-jangles her way across the stage.
All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up…
The phenomenon that is YouTube scaled to new heights this year. One only need only to type in the words “Single Ladies” (last count shows 119,000+ results) to prove my point. I would guess that the overwhelming majority of these videos are made by gay men.
Although I’m not a fan of the camera, I do enjoy most of these videos. I’ll be the first to admit that in this regard I’m as deep as the kiddie pool, and I can waste countless hours watching these videos since most are usually either quite humorous or include very cute young men lipsynching their way through their favorite songs.
Today while I was on WGB I happened to come across one such video.
The clips above are from the drag show I mentioned I saw at the Sydney Opera House. I regret not having a digital recorder, but these bits are better than having nothing and I definitely wanted to share. There are several drag queens in Sydney that indicated they would be checking to see if I posted anything and I would not want to disappoint.
It goes without saying that this is worth seeing if you find yourself in Sydney the first week of December. Apparently each year it gets more outrageous. This year’s performance ran from Dec. 1-6 and had 22 acts.
BTW: If you double click on the video it will open in YouTube where you can view this on a larger screen or download it in HD.
Thanks to Wicked Gay Blog (WGB) for sharing this latest video of Sam Tsui. I first wrote about Sam earlier this month in my entry, Don’t Stop Believing. Check out this MJ medley – it is my favorite video on YouTube at the moment.
BosGuy 