Kelvis Korner Blog

HomoTracker sent me an email inviting me to a pre-showing of Gus Van Sant's MILK, this past tuesday at the Grove in LA. The cost of the movie would be donated to help Lambda Legal with the California Supreme Court fight over Proposition 8. I was really anticipating the movie, so I invited Rafael with me and we went. We had dinner at the Farmer's Market since it's connected to the Grove. We went to my favorite place, which I suspect is Rafael's favorite place now: Pampas Brazilian Grill. After an awesome meal and some espresso, we headed for the movie...

The movie was so beautiful. It took my breath away. The cast was amazing. Sean Penn was unbelievable in this movie. Although there is a special place in my heart for the love interest played by James Franco. He was too adorable for words. One of the things that I admired about this movie is that the movie sent home the message that gay culture should be visible and that we should come out to all our friends and family so that they understand that gay people are all around them and part of the family. In the movie when they are trying to oppose Prop 6, their counsel advises them to not focus on the gay aspect and focus more on the equality for all. Harvey dismisses this and focuses instead on making gay people visible and human. I thought it was especially beautiful how this metaphor carries out into the character of Harvey Milk. The script could of showed him as a perfect hero type, but instead it shows him as a hero who is a human being, capable of flirting, being stubborn, and not always acting in a way that society is comfortable with.

So much of this movie affected me. Especially in California where what happened to us with Proposition 8 parallels greatly the struggle to overcome Proposition 6. It gives me hope that we can once again begin a grassroots campaign and bring California to the once liberal, open-minded, state that it once was. The California that I dreamed of moving to since I was a kid. That California is alive today, it just needs a little reminding. I think this movie came at the right time. On a last note it was very interesting to me to see the movie show Anita Bryant. She was one of the strongest proponents against the gay cause in Florida and it was interesting to see how her meddling in civil rights issues in Florida, caused a tidal wave in California which ultimately led to more protection for gays and lesbians across America. It's very similiar to the way that the Mormon church was so heavily involved with Prop 8 in California, and because of it's passing, the gay and lesbian masses have been so charged up that now equality is something that WILL happen in the near future for us.

Check out the MILK website for a screening near you!


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Saturday I took Nicola out for her birthday. She wanted to try this Thai place in North Hollywood called, Arunee House. We headed over around 7pm, Nicola was late as usual, and I was surprised to learn that the restaurant was right next to the Trader Joe's that I go to all the time in Toulca Lake, when I'm at work. We had a great time. We had a feast with drinks, an appetizer, soup, and two entrees. And it was cheap! We will definitely be going there again. It's half Chinese and half Thai. So you really can't go wrong!

After dinner we headed down to the Sherman Oaks Galleria to catch a movie at the new ArcLight Cinemas. We wanted to see the new James Bond Movie: Quantum of Solace, but it was almost sold out and Nicola didn't want to sit in the front row. We got some coffee and then went into Urban Home, where NIcola bought a really cute candle stool! Don't ask what it is. It's a stool. It holds candles! After that we went home. As we were leaving Sherman Oaks, we took Ventura Blvd. and I'm always amazed to see how many stores, restaurants there are in Los Angeles. If I ever do buy a house in Southern California, I'll probably have to start in the Valley. I'm OK with that as long as I'm at least close to Ventura Blvd! It has that WeHo vibe to it!


Sunday, Nicola, Ivette, Luis and I had reservations to check out the Getty Villas in Malibu. The museum is free but the parking isn't. The parking is not as big as the main Getty Museum, so you have to make reseverations. Every time I've tried in the past, it's been booked! This time around it wasn't. We had a great time. It was beautiful. I'm a big fan of the Getty Museum, and this one was great. The scenery was breath taking. The outdoor pools were amazing. My favorite exhibit was the mummy one. Check it out if you ever visit the Getty Villas!

Check out the full Getty Villas Photo Gallery.


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Luis and I went to the National Protest Against Prop 8 today in downtown Los Angeles. I've been pretty bummed after this passed in California. Ever since I was a little kid I always thought California was so cutting edge and modern when it came to how to treat people fairly. I'm sad to say I lost a little bit of that when Prop 8 was passed. I have regained some hope watching people come out to all the rallies I've been too. I thought there were tons of people at the Silverlake rally. It was nothing compared to the amount of people that were at the downtown LA one!!

Cities from all over the world had demonstrations in our honor, which was humbling and amazing. Luis and I rode the metro and it was free today because so many people showed up to show their support. We were packed like sardines in the subway, but it felt great. Everyone had their signs, and they were ready to protest! There were a couple of speakers and then we marched around downtown. I took some pictures and video. I have attached the pictures and embedded the videos from youtube. Enjoy and I hope we don't loose steam! This will get overturned.




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