The Adventures of LitBoy: Bill Brent's Blog

Do-It-Yourself Social Science: Pix taken not of, but by, celebrities

One way to grab a snapshot of current celebrity cachet might be to peek in on the current fundraiser for MixNYC, the annual queer film festival, and to browse the finishing prices for rolls of film taken with disposable cameras by various celebrities and artist types.

Anyone can see the auctions that are still running at eBay, but you will need an eBay account to log in and see the completed auctions.

Now, of course, we're not talking high-quality professional photography here, since these are disposable cameras. Thus, making some allowance for the potential porn-factor value of certain rolls, we can assume that the purpose of the purchase, aside from helping MixNYC to raise money, is to acquire an object handled by someone famous.

But the highest bid to date went to the roll taken by the current Guns 'n' Roses lead guitarist, at a whopping $2,024.00...

[or try clicking on this long URL version]

…suggesting that there is still nothing in America with a higher cool-factor than being a rockstar.

Even Norah Jones, the next-highest celebrity photographer with a completed auction as of this writing, fetched a measly $676.00!

You can click on eBay's "Price" column to see the totals in ascending or descending order. Enjoy!

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.06.09, 2:30 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

43.55 / $199.90 (21.8%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

[Celebrities scheduled to participate in the MixNYC auctions include: Bobby Abate, Mark Adamo, Ricci Albenda, Joan Allen, D-L Alvarez, Gregg Araki, Penny Arcade, Miguel Arteta, Assume Vivid Astro Focus, Charles Atlas, Julie Atlas Muz, Franko B, Lindsay Beamish, YES Man Andy Bichlbaum, Cass Bird, Mary Birdsong, Bitch, Nayland Blake, World Famous *BOB*, Justin Bond, Kate Bornstein, Jay Brannan, Lynn Breedlove, AA Bronson, Kurt Busiek, Jonathan Caouette, Michael Carbonaro, Ryan Carnes, Walter Cessna, Patty Chang, Liz Collins, Dennis Cooper, Brady Corbet, Catherine Coulson, Cary Curran, Dangerous Muse, Paul Dawson, PJ DeBoy, Donna Deitch, Abby Denson, Morty Diamond, Todd Downing, Zackary Drucker, Bradley Eros, Barbara Ess, Patricia Field, Robin Finck, Jenna Fischer, Colton Ford, Eve Fowler, Eytan Fox, Jared Geller, Andrea Geyer, God-des & She, Anthony Goicolea, Julie Goldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sam Green, John Greyson, Kathy Griffin, James Gunn, Miss Guy, Fritz Haeg, Anne Hanavan, Bibbe Hansen, K8 Hardy, Neil Patrick Harris, Mary Harron, Tyger Hudson, Scott Hug, Phil Jimenez, Michael Formika Jones, Norah Jones, Lloyd Kaufman, Liya Kebede, Kaki King, Theo Kogan, Harmony Korine, Bruce LaBruce, Sophia Lamar, Lesbians on Ecstasy, Lez Zeppelin, Hanna Liden, Lovett/Codagnone, Michael Lucas, Guy Maddin, Ann Magnuson, Shelly Mars, Chan Marshall, Galadriel Masterson, Tara Mateik, Patrick McGuinn, Patrick McMullan, Tara McPherson, Jonas Mekas, Kenny Mellman, Leah Meyerhoff, John Cameron Mitchell, Slava Mogutin, Meredith Monk, Billy Name, Tommy O’Haver, Tara J. O’Neil, Jenni Olson, Tony Oursler, Joe Ovelman, Peter Paige, Joe Phillips, Pierrot, Amos Poe, Wakefield Poole, Spencer Product, Tracy Quan, Vanessa Renwick, Hunter Reynolds, Rob Roth, Viva Ruiz, Eve Salvail, Tura Satana, Kenny Scharf, Daniela Sea, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Eric Shanower, Linda Simpson, Casey Spooner, Annie Sprinkle, A. L. Steiner, Todd Stephens, Brent Stewart, Peter Stickles, Bec Stupak, Chris Tanner, Jeffrey Teuton, Mark Tewksbury, Scott Thompson, Betty Tompkins, Rose Troche, Guin Turner, Mark Tusk, Mark Verheiden, Jim Verraros, Rosa von Praunheim, Dee Wallace Stone, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Joe Westmoreland, Jake Yuzna, Zaldy, and Mirah Zeitlyn.]

NOVEL-WRITING LOG: 21 days and counting

I haven't done an update to the novel-writing log in close to a week, so here goes.

Today was a rough day, and perhaps the closest I've been to full-blown depression in quite a while. I woke up feeling a vague sense of dread, and no, it wasn't just because this is the day my interview was supposed to broadcast over the Internet. (Actually, that didn't happen, since they moved up the broadcast by a week and didn't tell me. So it has already aired, and archived, even ... so if you're curious, you can hear it by clicking here: HealthyLife.net, Bill Brent interview with host Ann Sanders).

Anyway, I got up, made myself some strong coffee, sat on the living room couch with my mug, and cried intermittently while reviewing memories of my early life.

Suffice to say that I am cleaning up some very old business that isn't part of my current life, so that I can let it go and move into the next phase with clear, creative purpose, unclouded by the past judgments of unqualified others. Or, as I like to say:

You cannot be a fierce force if you are always apologizing for it.

So when the going gets tough, the tough (er, um, that's moi, sports fans) ... well, we crawl back into bed, since even sitting at this keyboard can be overwhelming at a moment of nearly intolerable malaise.

And then the tough ... well, we grab ourselves an empty Mead notebook and a comfy pen, and we write a thousand charmed and golden words into the right-brain novel, and all is well again.

Ha ha. Bet that's not what you were expecting me to say just now.

In other words, the tough kicked major butt today. I thought I would lie down and take a nap, but then I could see the wall of fear — that I would have nothing to say, but even worse, that I wouldn't even try. God, I hate resignation. Gah. So I stared at that blank page and tore down the wall. No room allowed for hesitation or doubt. Forty-five minutes later, maybe an hour (I wasn't keeping time), I had filled over ten double-spaced pages in my college-ruled, no longer empty notebook.

And now they're typed, even! So I can include them in today's word count.

In other news, I uprooted a fairly well entrenched Albizia sapling during yesterday's early evening walk and dragged it back home. It took me several return visits to wrench the root out of the earth. Dang, the taproot on this thing must be four feet long. It is still attached to the remaining piece of trunk, so the whole contraption would make an impressive single-tail whip. These trees are horrid, invasive aliens that destroy our native growth forest. Meanwhile, they grow into expensive pests that damage the roads with their root system and cost a lot to remove if you don't yank 'em while they're young. Maybe I will have a picture of my vanquished invader to post soon, but no promises.

Here's today's tally:

Bill's Left-Brain Novel,
as of June 26, 2007:

68,919 / 90,000 (76.6%)

Bill's Right-Brain Novel,
as of June 26, 2007:

20,918 / 50,000 (41.8%)

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.06.26, 6:55 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

43.55 / $199.90 (21.8%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION, summer 2007 edition

Greetings—

I'm taking time out from my novel-writing challenge to let you know about several things:

(1) Interview — Internet broadcast:

Here is the link to the show that was broadcast June 19, 2 p.m. Pacific time. It is now archived for anyone to listen to:

HealthyLife.net, host Ann Sanders interviews Bill Brent

— Ann Sanders, the host of "Sextra" (a weekly series), interviews me as the author of The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Men (Cleis Press, 2002). We discuss anal sex for men (straight, gay, bi) and their partners.

Ann was great fun to talk with. The sound quality could have been better, but I think it is enjoyable nonetheless.

The link to the interview remains up for at least two months, I am told, so the show will be available for listening through at least mid-August 2007.

Please note that I get a 10% commission on any of my books ordered through the Amazon links in this newsletter, so please help support my cause!

For starters , here's the link to The Ultimate Guide for Anal Sex for Men:

The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Men

– By the way, I'm very pleased that the popular website for A Different Light Bookstore just made my book a permanent feature of their Health and Body section. Thanks to the ADL staff, and especially to all their customers who have helped to keep my book on top!

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(2) I have a new book out! Get all excited!

Actually, it's a wicked and wise sex-and-drugs memoir that is part of a seven-author collection titled ENTANGLED LIVES: Memoirs by 7 Top Erotica Writers. You can check out the promotional website for the book at Entangled-Lives.com.

My memoir is titled "This Insane Allure," and I'm quite pleased to have been selected by editor Marilyn Jaye Lewis to be part of her stellar lineup of writing talent – again, you can check out the Entangled Lives website for details!

I am especially proud of this project since it includes my most ambitious purely literary work published to date. Part 1 of my story originally appeared in a somewhat different form under the title "Wounded," in the anthology Roughed Up: more tales of gay men, sex, and power (M. Christian and Simon Sheppard, eds.; Alyson Books, 2003) and then in the annual Best Gay Erotica 2004 (Richard Labonte, ed.; Cleis Press, 2004). This is the first publication of parts 2 and 3.

Entangled Lives is now available through Amazon, here:

Entangled Lives: Memoirs of 7 Top Erotica Writers

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(3) My short story, "September Shower," has been reprinted.

It originally appeared in Best Bisexual Erotica, volume 2 (which I co-edited with Dr. Carol Queen in 2002). Now my story is part of a new anthology titled Bi Guys (Ron Suresha, ed.; Southern Tier Editions / Haworth Press, 2006).

This is a fun, sex-drenched romp (I would call it erotic burlesque) involving a three-way scene between a woman and two men, set in a giant shower stall at a sex party. The location bears a suspicious resemblance to the party house I managed in San Francisco from 1994 to 2000, heh heh. (Actually, the house is sort of a character too, since I describe an idealized version of the place in elaborate detail. So my story is somewhat of an homage, too.)

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Want to support my cause even more directly? Then do your summer book-shopping with Bill Brent! Browse my bookstore on Amazon Marketplace and buy something for yourself or as a gift! Note that I ship every book via Priority Mail at no extra charge.

And, as always, you can make a donation to help support this site and my future work directly via the Tip Jar at the top of this page.

 

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.07.24, 3:30 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

43.55 / $199.90 (21.8%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

UNCOMPLICATE MY LIFE, part 2

—for M. A.—

The power to make choices that reflect your true priorities and concerns is perhaps the most amazing gift any human can possess.
    --me, from part 1,  HERE.

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart ... pursue those.
     --Michael Nolan

(NOTE: I don't know which Michael Nolan he is, but his thought popped up on my homepage while I was writing this article. If you like quotes, you can check out this ThinkExist homepage, too.

Also, this article is part 2 in an ongoing series. If you want more ideas about how to manage your life, CLICK HERE, and part 1 will open up in a new window. If you find this series useful or enjoyable, please consider leaving a tip of $2 or more in the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Thanks!)

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Our choices determine whether we succeed or fail at uncomplicating our lives.

The quality of the energy we bring to these choices is really important. To become more successful at uncomplicating your life, start by noticing when you make choices or act with partial energy.

"Partial energy" is present:

-    whenever we do things half-heartedly;

-    when we feel overwhelmed or "blocked" (especially when we cave in to pressure from others);

-    when we find ourselves wishing that we were doing something else;

-    when we are distracted (full attention is critical to success);

-    when we are high on alcohol or some other drug (that's always a bad time to make a decision, especially an important one, or one involving someone who loves and trusts us);

-    and especially when we are indecisive. You never need to make a decision when you are feeling indecisive! That would be crazy, wouldn't it?

In all of these cases, it is better to wait until the time is right. In other words, save your power for something you can focus on with your full energy. Bringing your partial energy to anything is a waste of your valuable time.

Remember that you own the right to change your mind about choices you have previously made. No one can take that away from you — unless you let them.

If you sign a contract, and then you change your mind, maybe you will have to live with the consequences. But maybe there's a way to break it! I have had to break contracts, and sometimes I had to be pretty pushy about it to get my way, but it was always worth it. Or maybe there's a way to change your agreement so that it is something you can live with. Really rich people do this all the time, and they get away with it; why shouldn't you? (Often their lawyers call it a "loophole.") You'd be surprised what you can change, once you bring your full energy to changing it. Sometimes a commitment turns out to be a bad choice. It complicates life in a painful way, and the only way to uncomplicate life and stop the pain is to break the commitment.

We all find ourselves faced with tough choices. When you are feeling the pressure of being at the bottom of the heap, sometimes any decision, however ill-advised, is better than making no choice at all, just so you can feel as though you are moving forward. These are usually pretty desperate measures, though. If you can step back and view your situation from a different perspective, even for a moment, you may help yourself avoid an even greater, less reversible disaster a minute from now.

In other words, kiddo, look before you leap! When you come to a decision point, you can think of a crosswalk. You wouldn't want to walk across the street without looking for traffic first. The bigger the decision, the busier the street. So be sure that you have checked carefully before you make your move, and then make it with your full energy. (Stop walking once you're halfway across? Yikes!)

There are many ways you can check out the street before you cross:

-    ask yourself which choice feels most right to you;

-    ask yourself about the best and worst possible outcomes that could result from your choice;

-    ask someone whose opinion you trust;

-    ask someone else, just in case they're wrong! Ha ha ha! But don't spend all day worrying about it. Most choices are pretty easy once we're being honest with ourselves. More on that in a moment.

-    wait for a sign (some kind of "green light" — for example, something you overhear, or read in the paper, or simply realize all of a sudden, by yourself.)

I need to talk about this idea of being "honest with ourselves," because "denial" has become such an evil buzz-word nowadays. It seems like if you want to disapprove of someone else's choices, all you have to do is claim that they're in "denial" about something. Now, I'm not saying that everyone does this manipulative kind of behavior, or that it's always an unjustified judgment call. Still, it has become easy to point fingers and substitute the "D" word for doing the harder but more rewarding work of thinking your way through a situation from the other guy's perspective. (Often we call this "empathy.")

Remember that you can't really control anyone else's choices for very long. That's a very good way to make yourself sick with anger and hate. Again, it is better to take this partial energy you are wasting on trying to bend someone else's choices, and move toward your own goals with full energy and unbending purpose.

If you want good role models for full energy and unbending purpose, try watching animals. Other species are seldom lackadaisical about doing anything! Our pets, such as cats and dogs, seem to indulge in this luxurious laziness more often, but that is probably because they have been unduly influenced by foolish humans!

Yet even we foolish humans can achieve our goals with the certainty borne of a clear mind and a glad heart.

So I leave you with this thought:

Whenever you can meet your goals and have fun while you are doing it, then you are living in Paradise.
    -- me, again

That is what full energy looks like. Why do you deserve to settle for less?

Uncomplicate your life.

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.06.23, 8:10 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

43.55 / $199.90 (21.8%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

NOVEL-WRITING LOG: 27 days and counting

Happy solstice, everyone!

The solstice gives me a chance to look back on the year to date and refocus on my commitments. Halfway through the year seems like a good point to reflect, refresh, and refuel. So far, it has been a productive year for me, and therefore a happy year. I've also found chances to get out from behind this desk and have some fun exploring the beautiful Big Island.

Right now I'm at a difficult point in the left-brain novel. I have to learn a lot about a particular spiritual tradition in order to make a convoluted yet pivotal chapter convincing. There are important distractions and digressions from the main ritual scene that need to be woven into the fabric of this chapter. Today was a great day for research, although I have a long way to go before I can write the chapter well. It will probably require many drafts. Meanwhile, though, I am learning some interesting stuff I never thought I would need to know. Isn't life so often like that?

Likewise, I am digging into some difficult work on the right-brain novel. It is easy to like my main character when he speaks in sly metaphors and startling double entendres, but those tend to ring a bit hollow once you realize they conceal ugly character flaws. So, amidst his difficult interactions with other characters, leading to his own dramatic and redeeming change of character, I want to maintain the spare, humorous, and multilayered literary style that works for his soliloquies. To put it another way, it's damn hard to write convoluted things simply and sparsely.

Of course I want each of these novels to flow and sparkle like a river, without getting bogged down in, well, a metaphorical bog. It's interesting that right now I'm facing the same basic challenge on two separate fronts. Lots of room for artistic growth, woo-hoo!

Anyhow, I wish you a happy Solstice and plenty of chances to enjoy the summer as we move into the year's warmer months.

Here's today's tally:

Bill's Left-Brain Novel,
as of June 20, 2007:

67,699 / 90,000 (75.2%)

 

Bill's Right-Brain Novel,
as of June 20, 2007:

19,519 / 50,000 (39.0%)

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.06.20, 8:35 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

43.55 / $199.90 (21.8%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.