The script I banged out for the production company has been done, reviewed, noted and revised. That was a crazy mad process and not the most fun. One week to come up with, then two weeks to write, and then another week to revise based on studio notes, a script is just like school -- only with money and your reputation on the line. I'd have rather had three or four times the time to write and review the script before ever turning it in. And about 10 to 20 times the money over that time as well. But there you go. You take your first break as it comes. Mine was basically coming up with and writing a final screenplay in half the time I had during a 10 week quarter at UCLA…
I should have more to post about that script soon.
I bounded up to San Francisco the other week to marry my best friend….to his girlfriend. I was a "Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage" for the day. That was fun. If your state offers a similar program, I really recommend it. Weddings are about friends and family, and Erik and his wife Halle are both. I got quite involved with the ceremony too and read too far ahead. I came dangerously close to saying "I now pronounce you Husband and Wife before they'd even exchanged vows!
[Laughs nervously.]
I caught my mistake, recovered, and the rest of the ceremony went well. Most people didn't even notice I'd screwed up. Except Erik and Halle. But they are family, so it's all good.
We'll leave aside the irony of a Gay man performing a ceremony he's legally unable to receive...
Outside of that, my energy is focused on doorQ.com. Launching a company and a website is just this huge task. Didn't think I'd ever do it or do it this way: bootstraps, blood, sweat and tears. Still, the work JB is doing is frakking cool… and yes, the more geek work I do, the more I've found myself saying "frak"… and Dan's been busy with creative product too. I have a legion of scribes, my Minions, toiling away on their respective desktops and laptops, to create a pile o' posts to get things off with a bang. Brent's going to do a podcast with me to coincide with the launch of the site. Y'all will be able to see Tell Me for free on launchday. Feel free to crash the server.
Crossposted to doorQ.com, the Gay Scifi, Fantasy and Horror Website.
Taking a break from announcing all of the crazy kats who've signed on to the project, I thought I'd show off some of the imagery that will be featured on the site.
While not a porn site, doorQ.com will have some fun with our SciFi/Fantasy/Horror genres, creating whatever "thematic" (read: not hokey) pics and images we can imagine.
And if that means showing a little D&A, all the better.
My friend Brent Corrigan (and his friend, Rocket) were gracious enough to pose for these pics. Check out Brent's new site at www.BrentCorriganInc.Com.
With Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes now in Pennsylvania custody over Kocis' murder, the game is afoot between the two to out-spin the other as the most innocent bystander in this whole, sordid mess.
On one side, we have the self-professed "StudWonder," Harlow, posting from jail to his own blog. Please note that his moniker is self-chosen, brought to you by a hucksterish audiofile played near every time you load his page, courtesy of the ScriptingWonders of HTML. Harlow shouts to everyone his innocence -- and to please send money. Believability in terms of dollars collected? A bit over $1,000.
I don't think the people of the Great State of Pennsylvania have to worry about a trial.
The best spin so far though is this one, which outlines a long, elaborate, and tres convoluted plot that manages to not only invoke about every logical fallacy known to Man, but to also bare as much resemblance to reality as Paris Hilton does to a devout nun.
I'm pretty much under the gun to get this new script out.
It's due on the 30th, which is a tight deadline to generate a good, 90-100 pager. Tough. Well, it's pretty easy to fill that many pages in that period of time. Making them good on the other hand...
I'll post more 'round here when I go simply bonkers from writing.
So a bit shy of 24 hours after activation, The Holy iPhone of Jobs beeped and told me my phone number had been ported from Sprint to AT&T. Not bad considering everything I'd read.
Considering something on the order of 500,000 phones came on line in the past week, the minimal amount of problems -- delays over the weekend, EDGE network crash on Monday, a week to get my phone out to me -- I really can't complain much.
There are a few things I'd like to see changed on the iPhone itself -- web messages/notes/etc. capable of being written in landscape mode, user assignable sounds to system events, wallpaper on the home screen also, bluetooth syncing with iTunes / DotMac -- so far the iPhone lives up to my expectations. I'll know more after a few more weeks, but I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.
Well, I still can't get incoming calls or SMS's. AT&T is in the process of getting the full number from Sprint. But all in all, set-up took a grand total of 15 minutes, including the time it took to open the box.
The iPhone really is -that- good. I've been amazed by just about everything its done so far. Tomorrow I'm going to check out the EDGE network and see just how slow it is. So far though, I'm very pleased with my upgrade.
So I get a random phone call on Tuesday from Dr. Mardson Queiroz McQuay, alerted to my blog by his son, and now anxious to ask me questions about my writing.
Thrown for a moment -- I've written about so many things, both on my blog and in a handful of published articles -- the tumblers eventually lined up and the memory trace connected: one of Harlow Cuadra's alleged identities.
If you can imagine for a moment that you are puttering around your daily life, absorbed with the minutia of working, raising a family, and say carving out a few moments of personal time catch-as-catch-can, when your son flags you down and says your name is linked to a rather vile murder n' porn plot? What would go through your head? Yeah, welcome to Dr. McQuay's world.
I was a little concerned at first that I might have written something untoward or suggestive of Dr.McQuay when I wrote up my bit about Harlow a few months back. With so many people posting whatever stray thought, errant fantasy or personal peeve as "fact" on their blog, there's always the danger that I too had been infected with such a malicious mark and had, in turn, said something equally reprehensible in my original article.
Quickly scanning the piece, and talking with Dr. McQuay a bit more, I realized that fear was unfounded. Dr. McQuay was concerned and curious to find out anything he could about how his name had been linked to an male escort cum porn star cum (alleged) murderer.
Yeah, i would too.
I really didn't have much to offer him, outside of saying why his name appeared on my site in the first place. (I was looking up anything that was publicly available related to Harlow's name since a friend of mine was tacking unwarranted flack.) He said he didn't know how his name came to be linked with Harlow's either. It wasn't until he said that he and his family had vacationed in Virginia Beach that the Bingo! Buzzer sounded and we had a winner.
Dr. McQuay indicated that he'd been in touch with various DAs about the matter and was evaluating his legal options regarding Harlow. Since the man is a scientist and a lawyer, I imagine he has a pretty good idea of what his rights are in the matter -- as well as what actions, both civil and criminal, can be initiated.
Given Harlow Cuadra's recent spate of public pronouncements, (note, link NSFW) perhaps he might grace us with a missive as to how the good doctor's vitals not only came into his possession, but were (allegedly) used so often that the Authorities considered "Mardson Queiroz McQuay" to be an alias of Harlow Cudara?
I'm sure the real Dr. Mardson Queiroz McQuay would love to know.
Of course, not all Muslims are terrorists. But it's been widely noted that virtually all suicide terrorists today are Muslims. Angry Norwegians aren't doing this — nor are starving Africans or unemployed Mexicans. Muslims have got to understand that a death cult has taken root in the bosom of their religion, feeding off it like a cancerous tumor. This cancer is erasing basic norms of civilization.
That is my place in the "Direct Fulfillment" line, according to the AT&T computer.
I spoke with a very nice woman at AT&T. Didn't grab her name, but she was a peach to speak with, therefore I'm going to call her Ms. Kowabunga. Yeah, I was never very good with names.
The affable and amenable Ms. Kowabunga confirmed things have indeed been crazy since the launch of the iPhone, but that she'd do some checking on my order to see what the various codes and notations on the computer meant.
The interesting bit of news is that according to Ms.K AT&T is getting 7500 new iPhones between 7/2-7/9, and another 7500 between 7/9-7/16. So, according to what she figured, every week or so they are getting in new stock.
What she didn't know was how that stock would be distributed, if there are various procurement and distribution centers around the country, or if the retail stores themselves would fight over it or not. It sounded though like these phones were allotted to DF.
She couldn't tell me why people who ordered later than me -- I placed my order on Friday, shortly after 7PM -- had already had their phone shipped. (Given the name of the head of procurement, one Mr. C. Thul Hu, it's probably best I remain ignorant. Insanity is overrated.) She did though say that I was 46th in line to have a phone shipped. She checked this twice, I'm presuming to make sure that the negative number wasn't just some crazy artifact.
So there we go. There are 45 people ahead of me in the Direct Procurement cue, and 15,000 new iPhones being delivered between now and the 16th. So that means I should get one, say by Xmas?
Crossposted to www.doorQ.com, The Gay SciFi / Fantasy / Horror website.
"... we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty.
And yet it all seems limitless."
---Paul Bowles
October 31st. 2007.
Save the Date.
doorQ.com Beta.
The World Will Never Be The Same.
(well, it might look the same, but inside, it'll be all awesomey and stuff)
My friend Andrew got me into the closing night of the True Color's tour, the Cyndi Lauper organized, Logo and HRC supported multi-city tour to end Homophobia.
I'm not a huge concert fan. I seemed to have inherited my dad's ease of acquiring headaches from the slightest pounding of music, (I was real fun at a club) but Erasure, Jimmy Somerville and the Pet Shop Boys were the sound track to my coming out in the 90s. Seeing Erasure live was something I just couldn't pass up.
The first few acts, the more newer generation of acts, weren't my thing. Sad, for me, as I'd hoped a moment of serendipity might occur with a new melody slipping in and taking root in my heart. Alas, not to be.
The Zone-Zone called me to its oblivious shores, blotting out the strings of songs unwanted and the acrid assault of the guy getting high next to me (M'kay...) when Rosie snapped onto stage and let lose with a string of invective insults that called me back. She was great, but she just set up the boys.
And damn, did I love the boys.
The next two hours were pretty awesome, as Erasure rocked the house with the synth-pop-trippy-faggy music that had me rocking out. Rare thing. They flowed right into Cyndi Lauper, who kept the beat alive, refocusing the energy on getting people to do something in support of our Fabulousness, other than shop. Several thousand people swaying together and singing True Colors is an awesome image I'll cary with me in my secret place behind my heart.
I'm on a campaign along with a few other people to help the accused Harlow Cuadra fight this unjust accusation towards him... I'm just not buying all of this. I believe that someone else caused the death of Kocis and this person happens to be in the adult film industry and it is all a set up. I'm just going on a gut feeling and hearing from Harlow from prison...
I braved the iHype yesterday for a speck of Jobsian Wonderment, but came away flummoxed.
Actually, what I did is step in line about 5PM at my local AT&T store to see if I'd be able to swing an iPhone. I'm an avid Mac fan, and the iPhone is a sweet bit of hardware that would make things a bit easier for me. I actually do like having my contacts, calendar, and to-do-list on my phone. The iPhone would make that so much easier. Since I also listen to a ton of audiobooks as I slog through LA traffic looking for restaurants, homes, and retail, having Google Maps available to orient my directionally challenged senses makes excellent sense. Plus, it's just so frakkin cool.
I wasn't though going to spend 24 hours getting a piece of tech. While the phone may be frakkin cool, I'm certainly not.
Recent conversation at the office:
Me: "For a style concious guy, your shoes look like they've been through hell."
Style Conscious Guy: "I know. I bought them that way. They're the latest."
Me: "Of course they are."
Like I said, I landed in line at the AT&T store on Lincoln and Washington right before 5PM and was surprised to find I was number 96 from the front. I thought for a moment I had pretty decent odds, figuring "100 units" would be a typical delivery to a store, everyone allowed to buy 1 phone at a store, and me 96 places from said store.. Then I realized Apple revised their criteria and allowed people to purchase two units each. Uh-oh. And 100 units, while a nice number, was just a random, round figure. No guarantee. Still, I loved the excitement of it all. Besides, there were another 40 folks behind me. At least I wasn't one of them.
About an hour in, after say thirty people had made it in, the news came that all of the 8 gig phone units were gone. 4 gigers remain, if you were so inclined. Of the remaining 90 or so people, about 30 bailed at that point. A few minutes later the last phone sailed for (someone else's) home and the line responded by disgorging half it's remaining adherents.
Was I pissed? Nah. It was a crapshoot anyway. I had fun waiting. It didn't take much out of me and, as a card carring geek, (or, in light of recent events, a doorQ is more apt), it's something I got off on.
A few observations. Having worked a theater at Sundance for many years, I have a bit of experience with a hot commodity that five times as many people are trying to get as there are are slots available for them too. We were pretty clear with people who lined up for sold out shows as to what the odds were for them to get a ticket and what their remaining options were if they didn't get in. We tried to keep people, if not happy, then informed. Made for a better experience. Generally.
I was therefore nonplused by AT&T's lack of information to those of us standing around, trying to get in. I understand they wanted to keep the mystery alive, the buzz building, and their coffers (potentially) even more full, but it was rather stupid not to tell people anything as the evening wore on, forcing information to spread by word of mouth. Not good. After person 50, they could have said odds of getting a pone were remote. After the phones sold out, they could have told the line that there was still an option of ordering one inside, for delivery later, instead of being needlessly obscure.
I did get to go into the store and order one. Apparently, more units should be available next week and they'll send them out as they have them. I plunked down an extra $14.95 to have it overnighted. No sense dealing with snail mail. I am a doorQ, after all.
The following are excerpts from the Criminal Complaint regarding Cuadra and Kerekes and the murder of Bryan Kocis:
From the Criminal Complaint:
"...A search of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) was conducted which indicated that the IP address was issued/assigned by Cox Communications Inc. of 1400 Kake Hearn Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319 PH: 404-269-7626.
A subpoena was issued for Cox Communications Inc. to provide the subscriber information related to the listed IP address.
The results of this Subpoena indicate the account and subscriber information as Harlow R. CUADRA of..... and the matching IP logs for the account."
Ouch.
From the Criminal Complaint #2
The next email was sent from dmbottompa@yahoo.com to cobra@cobravideo.com.... this email was sent 10 minutes after the boybater email and originated from the same IP address [of Harlow Cuadra]. The Subject line in this email reads: "would like to model :)" and the email body reads:
"hi my name is danny vissiting family for the next week in the king of prussia area. a freind [sic] told me that you guys are close to there. would like to meet with you and talk about filming and stuff. don't have much experience with this at all. may need to be taught first."
From the Criminal Complaint#3:
"....The associated IP address with this email is 70.10.229.19 and was assigned by Sprint Nextel to Harlow R. Cuadra."
"...Roy stated that as he looked at Harlow, Roy knew that Cuadra was talking about killing the vicitim. Roy then stated to Cuadra that they (Roy and Lockhart) didn't need Kocis to leave the country, and the conversation was switched to another subject.
Roy stated that on 01/25/07, in the morning hours, Pacific time, Sean Lockhart advised him that Lockhart had recieved a phone call from Cuadra while Lockhart was at work. Cuadra advised Lockhart to "go to the WNEP webiste". Lockhart went on said site while still on the phone with Cuadra and observed information related to the death of Kocis. Cuadra then stated to Lockhard: "I guess my guy went overboard". Roy added that Lockhart became upset and returned home immediately."
From the Criminal Complaint#5
"Subsequent to the search conducted at the accused' residence, it is noted that neither Cuadra nor Kerekes have been observed at same. It has been observed that the parents of Kerekes have been at the residence on multiple occasions and have been observed removing multiple items from therein...
..On 2/12/07 investigators interviewed the parents of accused Kerekes...Joseph Kerekes phoned said residence a minimum of three times. On each occasion, it was requested tat Kerekes speak with investigators and/or provide a location where he could be reached so that an interview could be conducted. On each occasion, Kerekes refused. Kerekes additionally rlated to his parents tha he did not want them to speak with investigators, and abruptly terminated the conversations. Contact information for investigators was left with Kerekes' parents, to which Joseph Kerekes did not attempt to contact same."
From the Criminal Complaint#6
On 3/03/07 at a time registered at 1014 am, the following message was forwarded via "myspace.com/harlowcuadra" to Grant Roy" "hey grant its harlow so when we gonna start filming? U know we had an agreement Joe"
From the Criminal Complaint#7
On 3/03/07 at a time registered at 1015 am, the following message was forwarded via "myspace.com/harlowcuadra" to Grant Roy "you need to make some king of contact with us before I tell them you hired us joe"
On 3/03/07 at a time registered at 1017 am, the following message was forwarded via "myspace.com/harlowcuadra" to Grant Roy " an we all know what us said to us at the avn in vegas and we have it on tape recorder and out conversation at le Cirque is recorded as well dont fuck with us"
On 3/03/07 at a time registed at 1043 am, the following message was forwarded via "myspace.com/harlowcuadra" to Grant Roy " we are going to visit san diego this week or next and we need to meet we hope to see u soon"
From the Criminal Complaint#8
"Cuadra and Kerekes then addressed Roy and Lockhart stating that if the foursome went to the nude beach the next day, Cuadra and Kerekes would answer any questions asked of them."
"Both Cuadra and Kerekes referenced the victim's records which were kept within his residence as being "gone". Both Cuadra and Kerekes sated that they viewed approx fifty five "master tapes" which were removed from the victims residence as well as business reocrds...[they] subsequently destroyed said itemes as they would be considered "proof."...illustrated items remained in his [Cuadra's] residence for approx two days. Cuadra added that he was going to afford a tape to Roy and Lockhart as a gift, but it was "too hot."
Cuadra also stated that while he was at the victim's residence, he heard the victim calling Lockhart a "little bitch" and the "product."
Cuadra and Kerekes then again illustrated a modeling contract which the victim had prepared for Cuadra to sign. Kerekes then interjected "Harlow had all the little documents he (victim told him to bring and he didn't even ask for them." Cuadra responded "oh no he didn't ask for my ID". Cuadra and Kerekes then stated that the victim expected that he and Cuadra were going to "have sex all night" without the victim paying Cuara any money for the same."
It's a pretty damning inditement of Cuadra and Kerekes. Most of the document charts in great detail the links between Cuadra and his various email accounts and IP addresses, showing what I think are airtight links between him and Kocis. It's going to be very hard for Cuadra's people to refute those links.
There's nothing in the affidavit to say or suggest that any kind of deal was made between Grant, Sean and Dildodee and Dildodumb while in Vegas to murder Bryan. In fact, according to the affidavit, as obliquely as it was raised, it was rather explicitly shot down by Grant.
It strikes me that there is an element of obsession here on Harlow's part. As I read the bits about Harlow's phone call to Sean and his comments on the nude beach, it reminded me of the time my sister's cat brought her a dead bird and then looked rather puzzled as sis screamed and ran to get my mom. The murder to me reads of the same intent.
As rumors have circulated, it does seem true that H/J did destroy most of the original tapes and model releases for Cobra videos. As I read it though, a lot of that stuff wasn't destroyed in the fire, so much as carted off and disposed of later. After H/J had a viewing party. Sick.
What little H/J say about their interactions with Kocis furthers supports the level of animosity and bile between him and Sean. He didn't have anything nice to say about Sean. Also, according to H/J, Bryan's ethics for the evening... such ethics as there are in the porn world... were a bit suspect, with Bryan wanting to sleep with Harlow (and Joe??) without paying him.
One of the questions that various people have had during this whole affair is what exactly the police have been doing this whole time. It was a while between the first identification of Harlow and the final arrest. Now we know. They were doing what all good police officers do -- they were building a case. Detail by detail.
Someone suggested along the way that the case is purely circumstantial. No, it's not and besides, good prosecutors can get convictions on those types of cases without any direct evidence. But I do know from friends in the court system that those are harder cases to make. DAs like bad-guys confessing to a crime. Bits of evidence here and there have a tendency to confuse juries (though with the advent of the CSI shows, that may not be as true any more.) With H/J on record, directly talking about their actions in murdering Bryan, along side the lack of evidence that they were put up to it by Grant and Sean, that's the slam dunk piece that will either get these two the needle or life in the Big House.
As it should be.
Two further points: Given the level of evidence on hand, I can't help but think Harlow's options for a defense are rather limited. If he can't get anything thrown out, and I'm not enough of a lawyer to know if there is a loophole here he can exploit, there's not much he can do.
If you note in the complaint, the police weren't that clear with who actually did the killing. I'm sure they know though. As someone else mentioned on-line, the DA is probably playing a game of Spanish Prisoner with H and J, trying to get the other to incriminate the other as the killer.
Predictions being what they are, I'm thinking he's either going to blame much of this on Joe or, in an effort to try to explain away much of the damning evidence, say that it was Bryan's comments about Sean that "caused" him to explode with rage. Time will tell.
Finally, how hilarious is it that H/J thought they'd be safe on a nude beach? On the off chance that they thought Sean and/or Grant was wearing a wire during their first meeting, they decide "I'll spill my guts about my deed on a bare-assed beach." Given how much I personally love nude beaches and think society would be much better off if we had more of them, it's pretty damn wonderful that healthy and carefree nudity exposed these two for the sociopaths they are.
Entering my vital stats, it turns out that if I was living and driving in the Great State of Washington, my license number would be "WHEELJD316N9."
Interestingly, that was also my last boyfriend's pet name for me.
The cool thing is, it's totally accurate. How so? Well, just find a friend with a Washington State Drivers License, enter their info into the online program, and compare!
What? You don't have a Washington State friend? No prob. I've got one. We'll use his details and compare.
More evidence popping up that Cho Seung-Hui was mentally ill. The Herald Sun is stating that Cho had been involuntarily hospitalized in 2005, as well as referred for counseling and psychiatric care numerous times since.
Chronic Mental Illness, the kind that Cho had, is a bitch to treat. People never get "well," just better... then worse... then better again as medications change and body chemistry cycles.
In the abstract, it'll be easy to say how this tragedy at VT could have been prevented with closer monitoring, better reporting, and continually follow-up. In practice, that's tough to do: expensive and time consuming, it requires the resources of many people and organizations continually following a single individual, constantly monitoring his or her health. In this day and age of hard to find medical coverage, that's not easy.
In the end, Cho is still responsible for his actions, for the pain and suffering he inflicted on others, and the lives he ended early. More though, as everyone races to judgment, blame, and condemnation, it'd be great if somewhere along the line, we try to figure out how to better integrate, fund and manage our health system so the services people like Cho get the help they need -- whether they want it or not.
Spent the weekend at the Q Me Media Conference, a conclave for the current, and up-coming, movers and shakers in the world of Gay Media. Several of my friends and fellow production companies were there, companies like Mythgarden, people like Chad Allen, and bigwigs like Dave Mace, SVP of Original Programming at Logo. I got a great reaction from everyone I mentioned DoorQ.Com to, even some offers of help to navigate the obstacles ahead and get a great site off the ground.
Oh, and Brent was there too. Irrepressible, that Mr. Corrigan. He was great as a panelist on the Jason Curious program, providing cogent and intelligent answers to the subjects raised. He was even better though networking with a crowd of Queer Media folks, all genuinely interested in speaking with him after his stellar performance during the discussion. I've got my fingers crossed for him.
Which reminds me: October 31st 1986.
In addition to it being on his Washington State Drivers License it's also on Brent Corrigan's U.S. Passport. Grant showed me his' and Brent's while he got ready for Saturday's post con, post GLAAD Awards party.
Some good news out of this weekend is that the project I've been working to put together is finally taking real shape.
I'm a big geek and really love sci-fi (love!), fantasy (more or less) and horror (scary shit but not so much the splatter porn that's big now.)I'm also one of the few people I know of who admit too actually watching the terrible B-movies the Sci-Fi channel puts on every weekend and enjoying them for the dumb fun they are.( They're like Mystery Science Theater 3000… only without the mystery, the science, the theater or the 3000.)
In those films, as well as all the similar, big budget ones that descend each summer like Superman touching down outside Lois Lane's Loft, I've always been a bit pissed that the guys really never kiss the guys in anything I watch. Sure, they're hunky, hot, and handsome, but the heroes always wind up saving some bimbo from certain doom. I want them to save the himbo from the same sad fate, damnit.
Door Q is a Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi site for us, by us, and all about us. It's imagination for gay people. Door Q will have the usual assortment of sections you'd find on such a site, areas like a blog, news feeds, comments, reviews and discussion forums.
Alongside that, we're also doing some new, or kinda new, stuff too. There's going to be a social networking component where, in a MySpace-esque environment, folks can create profiles and affinity groups around others who share similar interests, across the genres. We're going to have original articles, artwork, photography, even written.
The big piece though, the item we are most interested in, the most ambitious part of the site, the real reason why my partners and I even decided to launch this site in the first place, is the original, filmed content that will premiere here: Broadband short films, on-line series, perhaps even full length features, pulled from the genres we love, depecting heroes (and even villians) who kiss the right people, will pop up here in the months ahead
Though still in the early stages, DoorQ.Com is live. There's a with a mailing list feature set-up if you are looking to keep abreast of everything that's going on. The official launch of the site is still many months away. But, because I'm so damn eager and excited about this project, my team and I will be rolling out new parts of the site as we go.
If you are interested in writing for DoorQ, or if you have stories, photography, art, even comics that you are interested in exposing to the world, let me know. We've got some stuff already lined up, but we're always looking for new material (and writers) for the site. Before you send anything, drop a note to doorq@mac.com. I've got a release I need to send you first. Lawyers and all.
I went to school at James Madison University, which is "just over the mountain" from Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. We Dukes had a love/hate relationship with the Techies, but as VT had one of the few gay bars in the late 80s , as well as an out gay community in relation to the locked and bolted closets of most of JMUs attendees, things drifted more to the love side for gay kids. Many of us went to conferences, visited friends, and made pilgrimages to Blacksburg all throughout our college stay.
It's still a bit of a shock therefore to read about the horrible deaths at VT. Sad stuff. The sap who snapped and went on a rampage, inflicting his demons on others, has left a gaping wound in the State, one that will not soon heal.
My thoughts and sympathies to the victims and their families.
Well, I do have some reasons. My last week has been filled with things like "getting seed money," "marketing plans," "Executive recruitment" and "Actor agreements."
With the Q-Me Media Conference coming this weekend, I might just have a little teaser of what's coming down the pike.
1) Have we discussed whether or not to have children, and if the answer is yes, who is going to be the primary care giver?
2) Do we have a clear idea of each other’s financial obligations and goals, and do our ideas about spending and saving mesh?
3) Is my partner affectionate to the degree that I expect?
4) Can we comfortably and openly discuss our sexual needs, preferences and fears?
5) Do we truly listen to each other and fairly consider one another’s ideas and complaints?
6) Have we reached a clear understanding of each other’s spiritual beliefs and needs, and have we discussed when and how our children will be exposed to religious/moral education?
7) Do we like and respect each other’s friends?
8) Are there some things that you and I are NOT prepared to give up in the marriage?
9) If one of us were to be offered a career opportunity in a location far from the other’s family, are we prepared to move?
I've always told people to date for a year and go on at least two long term vacations away from family, friends and comfort zones before shacking up, let alone get married. It's amazing how many couples come to blows after a week on an Adriatic Cruise, cut off from their usual safety nets, and totally at the mercy of the one true love of their life.
Second Date U-Hauls is a great punchline for a joke, but a lousy in real life.
Speaking of my 20s, as a wee 20-year old, I used to go to Gay's The World book shop quite regularly. I was studying in London at the time, and I can remember reading about the store in a local gay rag, getting out my map, and just launching off down a street in the general direction of the shop.
I don't have the grandest sense of direction -- which became readily apparent years later while working as a social worker, trying to find the most obscure addresses in South Long Beach -- but I did have a mission. For whatever reason, I remember having to run a gauntlet of straight prostitutes to get to the place. I think I'd made a wrong turn somewhere....
I'm sure there is a small legion of fellow travelers who, over the years, also set out for that bookstore, and had many and varied adventures along the way. Gay's The Word is in danger of closing, a victim of the economic realities of the changing world.
I never thought we'd reach a day when the availability of gay material would be so prevalent and easily accessible that gay bookstores would close for lack of revenue. I'm glad for that newfound ease, but melancholy that those foot fueled adventures will, quite probably, soon be no more.
Note To Self: Zbigniew Brzezinski? Frighteningly eloquent buzz-kill over TiVo'd dinner entertainment, with his warning of 20-years of Hell and the end of our Superpower Supremacy should we get drawn into a regional, mid-East war before the 2008 election.
Things have gotten rocky at my friend Sean's BrentCorrigan.Com website. (Link Not Safe For Work.)
Sean's recent post outlining what had been going on behind the scenes at his adult comapany was pulled the other night and Sean was subsequently locked out of his blog and the site itself. DeWayne sent me a link to the "deleted" post (which in the interim is now popping up in various spots around the web.)
I checked in with Sean about all of this -- and yes, this time I've made damn sure that I'm not telling any tales out of school or implying any thoughts, feelings, or emotions that aren't true (grin) -- and he confirmed this morning that for several days he was locked out the website that bares his name and likeness.
Sean said he and his backer have a disagreement over the future of his site, its content, as well as a few other details. For several weeks Sean (and his boyfriend, Grant) have been trying to reach some kind of agreement with their backer over those items, but none of the emailed proposals / solutions have, as yet, been returned. The most surprising thing he discovered, he said, was that distribution deals for the content he shot for the site are being finalized and without his participation.
He just let me know that he's been allowed back in to his site, but he no longer has "adminstrator" rights -- everything he posts to his blog is now up for a higher level of approval.
I, for one, am just shocked, shocked I tell you, shockdamundo, shockorama, s-h-o-c-k-e-d*, at the just released news that Virginia and Pennsylvania police raided Harlow Cuadra's home in the execution of a search warrant relating to the Bryan Kocis murder...
*Did you know that sarcasm often doesn't translate well over the web?
One of my Bestest Friends, Allan Duffin -- we go waaaaaaaaaay back to driving lessons, computer camp, and psycho high school Spanish teachers -- has just started his own blog about Writing and Design.
Take a peak and learn from one of the masters of the craft!
Had one of those lazy drives this past Sunday. Zipped down to San Clemente in the late afternoon to meet up with Sean and Grant. One of those funky little trips that reminds me that as much as I love Los Angeles, I think I'd love living just outside of Los Angeles, in one of those sleepy little beachside towns that you can sack-race across in just under an hour should the mood strike. One day. Especially if this project comes together.
Sean read the post on-line, for the first time, this morning and asked me to pull it down. Since my feelings were mixed in with what he said, it's just too easy for the post to be read the wrong way or be seen as an "official statement" from him. It was anything but.
I've been writing a business plan the last few days and am a little bored. I'm excited about the venture, but writing a financial document is akin to doing a school report. And I just got done with school. For the second, no third, time.
Anyway. I'm still endlessly fascinated by this whole Bryan Kocis murder thing, not the least reason why being that an actor in my film, a friend, is somehow involved. I can't ask him anything about it. I can only sit back and read anything and everything everyone else writes about the case. Frustrating.
Everyone has a theory. Everyone has a view of what is "really" going on behind the scenes. Damn well near every one of which is crap. The theories advanced are based in preconceived ideas of the parties involved, with Brent/Sean/Bryan either the greatest person who ever lived or one step removed from Hanibal Lechter. Ugh. Far too simple. Far too easy. Far too wrong.
When I did Child Protection, investigating crimes against kids, it was tough to keep my emotional reactions and perceptions of people out of the picture and just stick to the facts involved. While we humans are some of the best pattern finders out there, our emotions warp our perception and we wind up seeing patterns, and drawing conclusions, that just aren't there.
I bring it up because I'm curious about Harlow Cuadra, the "person of interest " the PA police want to interview. What' known about him? Does what's known help to shed light on this case or just confuse matters more?
But I don't want to spin spin yet another vapid theory and add to the numbingly bland chatter bouncing around from website to website. What information is available with a lot of Googling and only a small amount of conclusion drawing?
Read on and find out.
Cuadra seems to own two different websites/business. One is NorfolkMaleEscorts (which is also linked at through boisrus.com) and another is "Boy Batter.Com." The first site an escort service, while the second is a video/streaming/porn site featuring twink models and films.
The Norfolk Male Escorts / Boisrus site is listed in at least one Yellow Pages under Escort Services. The telephone number for the service, 757-717-0233, links all over the place, showing it to be a cell number, featured in multiple adverts in multiple Virginia cities for his service.
Escort adverts for Cuadra -- at least it sure seems to be him -- are all over the web tas well. Here's an advert from Executive Male Escorts with the same pictures, and information revealed other articles (though in this one, he lists himself as being "bisexual.") He's also featured at Norfolk Male Escorts site, which isn't all that surprising because he apparently owns the firm. (see below.)
Cuadra also goes by the handle "quickysrt," and it's under that handle that, in 2005, he signed onto Xbiz.Com, an information site for adult industry professionals, looking for information about how to create a video site that become BoyBatter.Com.
As you read the "quickysrt" postings over the years on the Xbiz site, you can see Cuadra's skills in running an adult website grow and expand. Eventually he's able to conduct his business by Sprint Wireless Card and even consider acquiring other websites up for sale.
When he first introduced himself on Xbiz back on March 14th, 2005, he said he was the operator of a gay escort company in Norfolk, VA His userprofile on Xbiz gives a few more details about him, listing his DOB as August 5, 1981, (making him what, 26?) and being in business since 2000.
Also in that first thread he mentioned that he'd be in Philadelphia for the weekend and would be unable to speak with someone about on-line credit card payment services until he returned (3-17-2005 entry.)
A lot of that was already out in the Net and wasn't really anything new. Was he really an escort? Does he mention either his company or his service anyplace else? What does the "quickysrt" screen name mean, anyway?
His profile from Viper Club of America lists him as being a member of the VA/MD chapter. He mentions that he owns several fast cars, and on 7/16/2004, that he'd just paid off his yellow Viper.
I found that the "quickysrt" name goes back even further,to 2003 where, on a different site, he mentions that he was forced to take a lean against his existing house to initially purchase (presumably) that yellow Viper. In that same entry, he also discussed that had just purchased a condo in VA Beach and was looking to aquire a neighbor's home, though he was miffed that as he didn't have a set series of paychecks, he was hav
