Humor, fiction, nonfiction, reviews, opinions, reviews, and sarcasm
Medium is an open platform where writers and readers find dynamic thinking, and where expert and undiscovered voices can share their writing on any topic. While Medium requires a paid subscription (only $5 per month), if you read me through these links, you don't have to pay. I recommend you pay $5 - I've enjoyed and learned a lot reading Medium.
Telephonophobia is a real thing. Read here about my struggles with this condition.
I pushed. I pulled. The door wouldn't budge. I started to panic. Why would they lock a patient in an exam room? Click here for the surprising answer.
A visit to the past, a vision of the future. See it here.
Drag queens are often first contact between LGBTQ and heteronormative folk. Which makes terrorist attacks on them all the more alarming. You can read more here.
For stories from my past, click here.
Click here for more from Bill Calkins.
Most of these were written for the Jonathan's Circle newsletter. Jonathan's Circle is a small, private non-profit that helps men bridge the gap between their spirituality and their sexuality. Just for fun, I also publish these on Medium.
A touching gay romance set in an idyllic and idealistic Montana town. Released in 2000, this movie was once a hopeful vision of what might be. Nearly 25 years later, it's a wistful dream about what might have been. Read more about it here.
A gay cop and a lesbian teacher enter a sham marriage to pacify their families. Click here for more.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island follows a group of gay friends who pursue erotic adventures only to encounter obstacles caused by differences in social status. Unlike Austen’s characters who navigate the intricacies of wealth and class relative to the dominant aristocracy, the Fire Island social scene separates gay men according to race, masculinity, and body type. Read more about it here.
This animalistic, brutal sex isn’t what you usually see in movies. These guys are tough as nails. Compared to this film, Brokeback Mountain is a tea party. Read more about it here.
A movie review of the 1970 musical movie, Scrooge, starring Albert Finney. This is lifted out of a previous article of mine that was so long and tedious, no one clapped or commented.
Romantic Comedies usually, no, always follow an arc where two people meet by chance, initially dislike each other, endure witty banter with wise-cracking friends (often gay friends), fall in love, face a crisis that seems to destroy the relationship beyond repair, and after a grand gesture or run through the airport, come together to live, as they say, happily ever after. Click here to see whether the gay rom-com Bros follows that arc.
A rather cliched movie plot about two gay dancers finding each other under competitive circumstances is made more interesting set in the hypermasculine environment of gloomy Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia. Read more here.
Click here for an unflattering look at male strength.