“Stab it with your steely knife, but you just can’t kill the beast”
A balalaika
Special K and Ninja meet Charlie at the St. Lawrence Market again. Ninja waits for the balalaika player to begin and it seems like it will never happen. Special K and Charlie entreat Ninja to spare you another visit but Ninja maintains that every moment can be a podcast moment. They help Charlie choose hors d’oeurves for an evening soiree. Ninja concludes that the world is full of Eleanor Rigbys.
Eleanor Rigby by Mary Ann Farley
On a rainy, miserable weekend because they can do little outside work, Ninja and Special K conduct a painting proof of concept in the basement that also includes the art of putting Muskoka chairs together. They debate whether Adirondack, Muskoka and Cape Cod Chairs are all the same or not. Ninja finds proof in Wikipedia that they might be, but Special K is certain they are all slightly different. Ninja promises her partner that there will be no podcasting this weekend, but can’t quite stick with it.
Welcome to the real world. Not that it still isn’t pretty unpleasant.
Part two of an Aids Committee of Toronto event in the Sexplorations series. Buck Angel, not that pregnant man, is the most famous female to male transsexual in the world. Buck has a fan base that spans many countries and demographics. As the only transman star in the sex film trade, his fans are men, women, gay, straight, and all combinations in between. This show features the question and answer period that Buck Angel was the focus of at the ACT event that evening.
For my interview with Buck , and Rui’s interview with Buck, you’ll have to listen to HotFRM #139.
Special K and I just got back from the Opera. Here was the story. Boy meets abused Girl. Boy marries abused Girl. Boy talks up how wonderful his Half-brother is. Half-brother meets abused girl. Instant fireworks. Half-brother makes love to abused Girl’s hair. Boy finds out about the hair fetish. Boy pulls abused Girl’s hair. Boy kills Half-brother in a jealous rage. Abused Girl dies of abuse. Everyone’s life is ruined.
Photo by Mark Berry
Last month, Buck Angel spent a week in Toronto. He did two workshops for the sex shop, Toronto’s Come as You Are, a performance at the club Goodhandys and a question and answer talk for the Aids Committee of Toronto, ACT. I was fortunate enough to be granted an interview with Sarah, one of the owner’s of Come as You Are, Sergio who took care of Buck during his week here, and Buck himself at the ACT event.
Born a woman, Buck spent a great deal of his life before his transition unhappy and dissatisfied, one might say, desperately so. All that changed when Buck transitioned. He also became the first and most famous transman porn star. Arguably, Buck Angel is the most famous female to male transsexual in the world. Buck has a fan base that spans many countries and demographics. As the only Transman star in the sex film trade, his fans are men and women, gay, straight, and all combinations in between.
Buck Angel does not care a whit what you think of him. He defies labels because he refuses to resolve any of the contradictions that anyone finds in him. And this is one of the things that is so wonderful about him, making him an inspiration and poster boy for following your dream. His life is a direct contradiction of how quick people are to put labels on things. If we don’t label things and put a cage of definition around ourselves and others, there is the fear that we might spiral out of control and that society would be reduced to anarchy. If you are a queer of any awareness, you already have a solid foundation in the issues that transsexuals face in our society. But you may be critical of Buck’s life choices all the same. If you are straight and have never given transsexuals more than the sensationalistic nod that the media gives transpeople, you may be shocked by Buck’s choices and lifestyle. I think we are shocked and critical because we are unable to see the shades of colour between black and white. We crave easy simple answers where often complexity, contradictions and paradox are the only explanations. It is for these reasons that you must listen to this show today.
