A Conversation With Norm Korpi ...

Remember when the Real World aired back in 1992? Well, we got a chance to catch up with a trailblazer named Norman Korpi ... remember him? Enjoy! 1) When you first auditioned for the show (Real World: New York) back in 1992, did you think it would last as long as it did...I mean, 20 seasons is a VERY long time! NO...no...no...I never thought it would make it past Season 2. But looking at Real World’s format with changing casts members, and cities, the format some how keeps it fresh or predicable with the marketing and the teen machine. 2) Do you consider yourself a role model for the GLBT community; why/why not? I don’t consider myself a role model for the GLBT community. Candidly, I would rather be considered a role model for the straight community. Why? I think people are starting to see the green impact that gays share a light on. Upholding population control and resource consumption with same-sex (or no sex, in my case) lifestyle which I celebrated through helping others around me achieve their happiness by staying out of the rat race and lines which plague us all. I am glad my trend-setting role on the Real World has also had a positive cultural impact after all these years with other fancy-free-folk and such, making their waves of acceptance in the pond of pop-culture more splashy then I. In short, gays reduce traffic. Traffic and pollution are not good. Go Green…GO GAY! 3) Was your season really "real” ? How so? What was your most "real" moment throughout the filming? Do you think the seasons that came after yours weren't as valid as far as reality was concerned? The show was only 22 minutes long and it was in a forced semi-controlled space. I think I reacted as I would in that type of environment. If you knew me before the show, you would say that I was pretty much me. What MTV aired, I think, was a nice portrayal… but it was limited due to the time they had to show. Also, there was time when there were no, I mean no gay people on television. This was a huge commercial event…PBS nor the NEWS aired this kind of thing. Pop-Culture. Soda Pop. I was new, and so it was a very unusual event having a gay cast member … and the “real” was what made it work. Once we changed the way people watched, people saw it for some kind of a stage to be famous, and they wanted to celebrate their issues and learned from/had fun with others. I think you can do this all now on facebook and YouTube. 4) Do you think you portrayed a realistic sense of the gay lifestyle throughout the duration of filming of the show that would someday hold an iconic status in pop-culture? I am not sure there was anything called a “gay lifestyle” back then. It was disco, and we did the best to have fun and keep from catching the bug. It was a sad time and we protested a bit more than the kick back “IKEA chill.” Also, I like deer hunting, and golfing; I am not sure how all that played out either. 5) Besides making "The Wedding Video," what else have you done since your season was all wrapped up and aired? I have been painting and exhibiting my artwork with various galleries, commissions and shows; I have few art shows coming up this summer (at The Contemporary Center of Art in Orange County). I have a few other projects that will be surfacing about water control and renewable energy, but that’s too long and dull to get into. 6) Are you married? What are your stands on gay marriage? No, I am not married … I am for whatever works for the people! 7) Who have been your top 5 favorite gay cast members over the last 20 seasons and why? What I have learned over the years is this: favorite, like, and dislike are traps and don’t offer much to me; those steps create a hierarchy or reward structure in which others will follow, because even when there is a likeness assumed, there is a dislike or someone’s life wasn’t as meaningful when the editors made choices. I will say the cast members who were straight did has much or more for the gays … by making relationships that were caring, combative, and real. All of this happened for all to see! 8) Please give advice to anyone who is struggling with coming to terms with who they truly are: Take a step forward… Stop being so needy… Learn to listen to other people… The Meteor is coming, so help us stop it from wiping us all off the earth! (It’s part metaphor, and it’s also on the horizon) Oh yes, and you can’t change anyone…just yourself. This is sad but true. Once you get that, you’ll go much further down the road. Make a party of it, damnit! You can be “out” in your mind and when you have control of your life, you feel safe that day. Out you go - wear whatever you want and thank the people with a flower for the freedom. It’s not free…so vote, you little shit. But remember, you can’t change people… people change themselves. So you make yourself safe. Find those friends…the truth will set you free.

Real World 20...AHHH!

Below are our top pics for the bestest gay men who paved the way for our community via reality tv! We also chose Davis Mallory, but of course the video didn't post! lol ... leave comments, and your fave picks for who you just couldn't live without from week to week! Can you believe it's been 20 seasons!?

Danny (and Paul)

And last but not least, Danny! Anyone know how we can get a hold of him? haha ... we also have a few questions for him!

The Norm!

He was one of the first, kiddies...

Tyler finds a guy to hook up with...

Tyler was interesting, but we still love 'em!

Notes From The Concrete Jungle: The Importance of Listening

A lot, and I mean a lot, has been said about the importance of listening. Scores and scores of advice on how one should listen, why one should listen, and what one should listen for. But not nearly enough has been said about the importance of talking. Now, I don’t mean talking just to hear your own voice, but talking to actually express things, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and the like. For all the people out there in the world listening, SOMEONE’S got to be talking (at least I would hope).

Over the last few months I’ve been thinking really hard on some things, and one of these things is the importance of talking. Now, for the record, I’m a talker, or at least our standard definition of a talker. In reality, I’m an idle chatter, someone who can make little, non-sensible conversation. When it comes to the big things, and I mean the really big things, I’m as quiet as the rats that run through the sewers of the Jungle. I’ve never learned how to talk.

I come from a family and world in which talking about yourself was status quo. I spent nights doing the usual ego boasting, and idly expressing world views that no one really knew or understood. But the talking about yourself stopped, dead cold, when expressing emotions or feelings. I grew up trying to achieve my dad’s idea of the typical southern eldest son. I’m sure most of you have heard of the idea, top of the class, football star, macho, and emotionless. It’s the stereotype portrayed in movies and television specials. I wasn’t any of these things, but I bought into them. I created them as part of my own personality. I developed stoicism, the complete lack of emotion, at least by modern definition. See, I was taught to show emotion is weakness and to talk about your emotion is feminine. Due to being raised like this, I developed ways to express myself, which wouldn’t exactly break my dad’s little rules, but it was never about me.

I’m a writer by nature; I’ve always played with pen and paper. So it seemed natural to me to take these unexpressed emotions and convey them through characters and pages. I wasn’t breaking Daddy’s rules; I was, if anything, bending them a bit. I created characters to express my anger, my rage, my sadness, anything my heart felt. It wasn’t me though, and it solved nothing, and I skipped the fast track to the modern generation. We live in age when talking about emotions and feelings are in vogue, but I missed it. I feel odd, strange, saying things like “I feel angry” or “I’m upset when,” or “I’m happy when.” These are not sentences I can form easily. I’ve always handled things myself, or dished them out on the page. And suddenly, life changes.

In any relationship, friendship or otherwise, talking is key. Not just talking about likes, dislikes, or even favorite films, but talking about real issues, real emotions, and reality. There’s the key to it all… reality. Relationships rely on reality. They rely on being true, not only to yourself, but to the other person. When talking, in reality, you begin to craft the gem of trust. Not only do you craft trust, but you begin to deepen where things are going. Things can’t be fixed without being spoken of. If you choose to remain silent, then you choose to let the issue bubble and brew into a major issue that may explode beyond repair. All this having been said, how does one go about talking, or in my case, learning to talk? Like anything you learn, you have to start at the beginning. I haven’t quite mastered starting at the beginning. I’m the type that just dives right in. This time though, for my own personal reasons, I’m starting at the beginning. Step one in learning to talk is finding time, and sitting down in an area that’s comfortable for everyone. Step two, open up, and let the words flow and talk. Speak from the heart, and let the words flow, but by all means avoid words like “always” or “never,” phrases like this immediately put everyone on the defensive. Step three brings us back to the all important listening people have harped on for years. But the importance, remains on talking, on letting things go, on creating understanding. Most importantly, on continuing to craft the gem of trust.

PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK
1. No One's Gonna Love You (The Way That I Do) - Band of Horses
2. Spit on a Stranger - Nickel Creek
3. To Be Alone With You - Sufjan Stevens
4. This Modern Love - Bloc Party
5. Digital Love - Daft Punk
6. Read My Mind - The Killers
7. Like the Angels Rise - Against Me
8. You're My Best Friend - Queen
9. Solider Girl - The Polyphonic Spree
10. All My Loving - The Beatles

Until Next Week
- Texas

Notes From The Concrete Jungle: Something Borrowed, Something "Blue"

Something Borrowed, Something "Blue"

Have you ever played with a lead balloon? I haven't either, and I assume (though I could be wrong) that it's absolutely no fun. The reason I ask is, well, I've been sitting with a lead balloon in my lap for about a week now, and I'm totally unsure of what to do with it. Am I suppose to throw it, or use it as some fanciful decoration in the House of Texas? I simply don't know.

Of course, "lead balloon" is a euphamism for something else. It usually refers to a situation that doesn't work, for example: "Well, that joke went over like a lead balloon." I tend to use it for a situation I don't want to deal with. Example: "Your drinking is one more lead balloon." An even better example: "My brother's wedding is another lead balloon in my life." And it is.

Time for a bit of a story. (Yay!... or not.) Mitch, the middle son of my family, is getting married on April 19th. To say I'm happy is an understatement, he and Stacy have been dating for over eight years. Eight years! Hell, most of us have a hard time imaging eight weeks let alone eight years! So yes, I'm very happy for him. They deserve each other. Seriously, they do. And don't try to read any bitterness or resentment (two "glowing" trademarks of queer society) into this. There isn't any. If anything, this "lead balloon" got me thinking.

I haven't been home in over a year, and while a wedding is a perfect reason to escape the confines of the Jungle, it isn't an oppertunity I plan to persue. You see, my family is a bit of a disjointed mess, and this wedding REEKS of disaster. (To be clear the disaster isn't Mitch and Stacy, it's the mess surrounding the wedding.) Pluse, disaster aside, I don't feel like answering millions of questions that are bound to be asked. And I'm sure any fool knows what those are.

"How's New York?" Great! Couldn't be better. (Sip drink in silence and pray they go away.) "Got a boyfriend/girlfriend yet?" Yeah, I do. HE'S wonderful. (Deeper into the drink.) "So, when do you plan to get married?" (Pause. Beat. Smile.)

And then the Beast that is Texas lurches forward and attacks that fool crazy enough to ask that question, thus rendering my brother's wedding on the evening news. Publicity! Fame! And jail time. And why? Simple. I'm a rabid, feral, staunch supporter of gay marriage, and in the backwoods gay isn't something you mention, let alone marriage. So instead of running off to book my flight, I sit with the lead balloon and wonder just were I'm going to use it to decorate the House of Texas.

I'm not going to let this become a rant on marriage, the need for the legalization of it, or blabber on about the need for equality. Let's face it, we all know, gay or straight, these issues need to be addressed, but there's a time and a place for these things. For the record your brother's wedding is not the proper time or place (and to be honest I don't think Pride is the time to mention these things either). It's called class and edicate. I'm only going to say one thing about the whole marriage thing (for now). The constitution states I have the right to the pursuit of happiness, irregardless of the fact that my happiness might step on your religious beliefs (there's an amendment that solves that problem too). Enough said, I think (again, for now).

Actively Support... PORNO?!?

For all you kiddies a bit bored during the week and need something to get over the mid-week blues, you should check out 9TH AVENUE SALOON (between 46th and 47th on 9th Ave) on Wednesday night. A good friend of mine, Manny (who just celebrated his birthday), runs the bar that night. And guess what? From 9 to 11 you can usually oogle a porn star or go-go boy! Now, wait, wait, it gets better. You can play BINGO! Did I lose you? Hope not, because by playing bingo you'll be helping local gay orginizations raise money. The orginzations range from theatrical to medical, just ask Manny at the bar each week who it helps. Oh, and a word of advice, don't mention being a Red Sox fan (if you are). So go out and enjoy a cocktail or two and help support the community.

PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK

One last thing guys, here's some more music to get you through the week.

1. Shut Your Eyes - Snow Patrol

2. Good Day - The Click Five

3. Just Some Guy - Anthony Rapp

4. Rollerskate Skinny - Old 97s

5. Magick - Klaxons

6. Rogues - Incubus

7. Tounge Tied - Eve6

8. Million Years - Teddy Geiger

9. Lights and Music - Cut Copy

10. Weekend Wars - MGMT

Until next time,

- Texas