Gay in the Bay | Vol. 2023, Issue 1

Queer Intro

Welcome to the Gay in the Bay Blog! I am Josie, a queer writer and videographer that loves to document what I see around me. This started out as a writing blog but has grown to include events that more people should know about.

This post is for the week of January 1 - 7.

Do you have a live event that needs filming? I’m a videographer! Please check out the Sweeney Media on your way to the About > Contact page. I look forward to working with you.

Celebrating New Year's

Happy New Year! I hope your year started off well. Mine has been interesting.

On the very first day of the year, I helped save a comic shop. Silver Sprocket experienced some flooding in their basement and potentially lost a lot of their product. it was exhausting to move boxes for over an hour (maybe 2?), but I was happy to help them out.

The weather has been pretty crazy this week! There was some sort of atmospheric river or something going on, which means its basically monsoon season for the Bay Area. There have been a lot of warnings going on to be safe, and videos popping up about flooding. So I’ve locked myself in and began revising my Superhero book.

This week I began my revisions. This has been eye-opening. In the recent past, I’ve admittedly been scared to begin this process. I think it is the fear that what I wrote is no good, or that I may have to kill my darling, even multiple darlings.

And I have. All of that has begun happening.

After a few chapters, I found out that I meandered way too much and explained rather than showing. Shifting events to a fictional city that I’d already created in another book was a great decision. There may still be elements that I’m holding on to for dear life, but I am much more willing to make those changes now.

The book has a much better structure now. I wanted each chapter to feel like an issue of a comic series. This iteration is in three parts, with five chapters each. I’m already on chapter four and really having fun.

On Sunday I got to see David Bowie’s The Hunger (1983). That movie is a wild ride from beginning to end. This will be a wonderful addition to my podcast. There’s too much to say in a single blog entry, but I can mention: gay vampires.

I decided to try a social media experiment. I visit Instagram quite a bit, but I wanted to see what I could limit. Today I tried holding back on watching stories at the top of my feed and hitting the like button. There was one exception for very particular reasons, but otherwise I cannot see or Like anything. I will write down how that goes. Until then, I already like how different it feels, even if it’s only been a day.

Thank you for reading the updates from the Gay in the Bay! Please stay safe and warm out there. 2023 has started off on an odd note.

Photo taken just after midnight, January 1, 2023.

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Awesome things:

• Finding Total Party Chill — I want to work for them now

• Crossplay Love — An Japanese LGBT romance

• Listening to Spotify while revising my book

• Seeing The Hunger (1983) at The New Parkway Theater

Hurricane Holiday Season 2022 | Writing Blog

I do my best to organize my thoughts, but I’m always afraid that I come across as rambly. For what it’s worth, I want to start a discussion about first drafts for any manuscript, not just my own. On here or Instagram.

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Writing Blog

The holidays can feel like a hurricane. Many of us have already been through the whirlwind known as Thanksgiving Day (or Turkey Day, as I like to call it). Like it or not, you’ve got to admit there’s an awful lot of logistics involved. And now there’s December, which gives way into the new year. Even then, there are birthdays and other cultural holidays that begin that just keep on rolling. The point is: you think it’s over after Thanksgiving, but then there’s more to go. Then there’s a deceptive lull. And before you know it, it’s over.

This hurricane metaphor has been true of my first draft. For five months there have been plenty of writing, planning, talking with friends and acquaintances, reading comics (relavent I swear!), and other sorts of craziness. Early on it felt like my brain had turned to mush, and that scared me. I wondered if I was already burnt out. Or it could have been another issue (see my autism posts, which need to be updated honestly). Whatever the issue, it became apparent that I needed different environs in order to write through parts of the book that I was stuck on. And thus my YouTube channel idea was born (after other ideas, of course).

After all of that, I considered joining National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) in October. But in the last week of spooky month The End occurred. The end of the book, that is. I primarily focused on the whirlwind that was the characters, their needs, and the abrupt conclusion with a strange Doctor Who-inspired ending.

I found myself writing more than usual. Generally I write in short bursts and need to take a break but not that week! And it was a damn rollercoaster, the interactions, espionage, trying to bring all the various threads to the final fight. Ending one chapter and setting things up for the next. It was the most exciting thing since moving out to California.

After I wrote that final twist at the end, I realized that Hurricane Holiday Season had only just begun.

There are a lot of things that come to mind after completing this draft that I had to take a break from.

• How much closer to being published am I?

• How do I find an agent again?

• Oh shit, what do I do about revisions?

• How long do I need to wait before revising?

There were more, but I focused (and still am focusing) on revisions first. And that’s another deep conversation for another post. But the first part of this writing journey is done. For book one, since this is a series. I must be a glutton for punishment because I know this book is only going to expand from here.

I hope you survived NaNoWriMo unscathed. And I hope the rest of the Hurricane Holiday Season treats you well.

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Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

I rely on music now more than ever. For rest and relaxation, for writing, road tripping, you get the idea. According to Spotify, I seem to listen to Pop the most. But I’ve been following more Punk, Ska, and Jazz lately. Anyway, here are links to music and other content that I’m consuming. This helps while I’m writing.

Speaking of writing, I started the first chapter of my next book while filming at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. I decided to do this while waiting to revise the first book and outline the second one. I have most of the broad strokes down, but for the second novel I need to get more specific details down.

Alexander Lasarenko, and I found out him through this documentary by Defunctland on YouTube.

Chloie and the Scouts

Books! I read a ton of books at once, so it’s worth my time to only mention one at a time. If I’m honest, I think it would be overwhelming to list them all off at once.

A Scatter of Light

Reading the Classics

This might seem funny to some, but I’m finally getting into the classics. And I’m diving into a couple of big ones. But first, I want to make a connection then focus entirely on these two British and American classic tomes. I’ve begun a YouTube channel that involves me traveling to cafes and parks. Both places are great places to write my own novels, and wonderful places to read. A chance to slow down from the busy world we all find ourselves in.

A Tale of Two Cities is the first. It’s full of vast details and descriptions that make me slow down and think in a way I don’t think I’ve ever done before now. I’ve always needed to read a textbook fast or been in some sort of hurry to finish. And I read slowly. But this time I have no reason to pick up this classic book. Despite only reading the first couple of chapters, I can already tell this will be a cozy read. I feel no reason to keep tabs on too many characters, especially since there are CliffsNotes and Sparknotes out there in case I miss a detail. What makes this an easier time to read is that it’s a digital copy. So I’m able to change the format to suit my needs.

Leaves of Grass has always been heralded as the first American Classic. And it’s poetry; a genre that was made fun of by quite a few adults growing up. But I’ve always felt that anybody could write poetry. Especially a gay man in the 1800’s. Like the Dickens novel, I haven’t read that far into it but I already love what I’m reading. Unlike Two Cities, this is a physical copy, and a beautiful one at that. I don’t have every thought yet about these poems, but I will try. They will spill out in future posts.

I won’t make too many comparisons to these two books. There are obvious differences in things like word count, genre, and subject matter. But both breathe life into their scenes and poems in vastly different ways. Both men are vivid in details that I have never considered. Both speak in a much older way; but considering I haven’t read that many classics this is refreshing. As refreshing as a breathe of fresh air. These books are giving me ideas that I might steal for one of my future books (but who knows).

Sorry to be scarce on more details. I feel like I could write more on them both. But Charles Dickens started out serializing his stories before they were published. So I hope you, dear reader, can permit me to gather my thoughts. Until next time, happy reading and writing!

Welcome to Views & Brews Blog!

I’m a queer writer with ADHD. I have a desk, but my brain doesn’t always like sitting there. I like to travel to various places; cafes and parks being my favorites. As I say in my YouTube videos: Let’s explore!

Having ADHD is often times synonymous with having a short attention span. While that is definitely true for me, it may not be true for everyone. All that to say, I speak for myself and my self alone when it comes to short attention spans; and honestly neurodivergence in general.

Muir Woods Walkway.

I’m starting this blog as a supplement to my videos. I’m just starting out in that vlog-o-sphere and will make mistakes or gloss over things. This here is where I can cover the rest. This is where I feel like I can cover anything that wasn’t mentioned or forgotten in the videos. And this blog will grow alongside the videos.

It’s also important to note that if there’s anything I say that’s incorrect or needs a correction in a particular video, or needs expanding upon, I can do that here and have that reflect in the video description.

What’s been great about this YouTube channel is that I can focus on something besides my writing. My brain seems to melt whenever my books are the sole focus of my day. I have experience in videography, so I figured out what else I could do pretty quickly.

That being said, I went a couple of months making videos before disaster struck. I was the lucky winner, not once but twice, of food poisoning in October. So I had to slow down and focus on writing when I felt better. And that had me rethinking ways I could improve on filming and editing. Some way that wouldn’t be so laborious and tedious. And I’m actually still figuring that out right now.

Fancy statue at Milk SF.

Ok, so here’s the plan at the moment: I’m going to blog about what I wanted to make happen at the start of this channel, versus what’s actually happening. Because the plan was to find as many places as possible where I feel comfortable writing. That hasn’t really happened yet, to be honest. My mind seems to tunnel vision very quickly and I forget to do one thing or another. Like I said, I’m easily distracted.

Until next time, happy writing!

Blog: Definitions

As I begin my science fiction novel, I find myself solely focusing on that. But to give myself a break from that I will still write something on my web site.

There are two big themes that are the background of my sci-fi novel. I have named it Macho-Man for a lot of reasons, but lately I have wanted to drop that title. I’ll go into the reasons another time. But in the meantime, the two background ideas I have for this book are: Absurdism and Satire. I’ve decided that the label for my book is Parody. Below are the definitions of each word.

Absurdism

Noun

1. intentionally ridiculous or bizarre behavior or character.

2. the belief that human beings exist in a purposeless, chaotic universe.

Satire

Noun

1. The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

2. A play, novel, film, or other work which uses satire.

3. A genre of literature characterized by the use of satire.

Parody

Noun — An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

Verb — Produce a humorously exaggerated imitation of (a writer, artist, or genre).

I’m not certain what I will reveal as this novel grow and turns into its own thing. But one thing is for sure: I really hope to make this into a really funny joke that will do comic book superhero a real justice. And can be enjoyed by everyone.

Apologies for being cryptic and not very forthcoming. I’m at the beginning of this writing journey, which is on the coattails of another book’s journey. I can’t wait to update more, for anyone who reads this.

Blog: NAB Aftermath

Packing up for the NAB show was stressful, but ended up being simple. I needed clothes, a book, and my computer along with the associated cables. But what I wasn’t certain about were my allergy medications. Being the over-thinker, I wasn’t sure if I could bring them.

According to TSA, you are allowed to bring medication onto an airplane. But you must allow TSA to screen the bottle. There is no limitation to how much you may bring.

This was my downfall. As soon as I hit ground in the desert that is Las Vegas, I was already suffering from coughs and sneezes. Once I came back, I immediately seemed to come down with a cold. The past several days have been nothing but Day/Nyquill dosages, lots of orange juice, and water consumption. I couldn’t think straight enough to try and write something for either my novel or this blog. Which somehow feels like this current week is out of whack. But I’m trying my best to keep it easy while continuing to produce more chapters and reviews.

There’s not much more to it than this. I’m still dealing with a bit of crud. And that isn’t the end of the world. But it does leave me without energy. We’ll see how tomorrow fairs.

Blog: Bay Area Rapid Transit

San Francisco is known for many things: many kinds of civil rights activism, tech companies, and for having an outrageous number of people living on and around the peninsula. I hadn’t thought much about public transportation while planning to move to Oakland, California. But that became an undeniable aspect of living here once I began driving through the area. Enter the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (or BART for short.

BART is a complex system of subway trains that serve as an artery for the Bay Area. The real artery are the ridiculously complex system of interstates that form a type of webbing around the city. I once thought Los Angeles was bad… But according to people I meet, don’t get caught in afternoon traffic, which occurs daily between 2-6pm.

Since I now live here in Oakland, I figured I should get used to the subway system. After all, I’ve commuted around New York City a few times. How difficult could this be?

This past Saturday was my first chance to go from Oakland into San Francisco. The first thing I needed was a Clipper card. The entrance I went to didn’t even have a kiosk, so I had to walk to another one. There were several kiosks, though the first one I tried didn’t function properly. Once I had the card in hand, I went underground. And the escalator went past the first set of tracks.

I was surprised that there are two levels. This allows for four trains to simultaneously operate at the same time. So knowing which set of tracks to go up or down is crucial.

Once on that first car, I stood next to one of the sliding doors. I wanted to have a front row view of the places we would zoom past. And at first I wasn’t disappointed. Then we went underground. So I had to put my phone up. I wouldn’t get to record going across the Bay Bridge like I expected. That was all in darkness.

Here’s where things may not be as exciting, let me go ahead and tell you. I had absolutely no plan to go anywhere specific. This was because I wanted to allow mistakes to be made; and boy-howdy do I have an odd sense of direction when it comes to subway systems. Maybe it’s because, up until now, I’ve never lived in a city with a decent transit system. Memphis only has buses, which aren’t very reliable in my opinion.

I stopped at the Mission District first. Since I had no prior idea of what I could do there, I quickly hopped back onto the subway. And I hit the Financial District. There I got to see the first trollies (too crowded, will go another time), a couple of people evangelizing on the streets (they have powerful speakers), Chinatown, and even a couple of the piers. I’m not very active, but it was a lot of fun walking around listening to music or a podcast and just looking around. My Apple Watch said I walked about 7 miles, which I think it included the train rides. Still, that’s several miles of walking!

I only made one mistake getting back home. The lower tracks seem to be the correct terminals in order to get between San Francisco and Oakland. But that’s what this trip was for: to make mistakes and learn from them. And since I’m autistic (see previous blog entries), this was nerve-wracking at times. But with my noise-cancelling headphones and focus on the maps, I got through this easily enough. This first time was fairly confusing, though I think I’ll get used to it quickly enough as I go more often.

There’s still so much more to say about BART. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But for this first go-round in the metro area, I’d say this was a success. This first trip makes it so much easier to travel; for me and for friends and family that visit.

Blog: Queer Film Theory

Did you know that I have an LGBTQ+ movie review podcast? Probably not. I’ve been so busy these past few months moving to the West Coast from Memphis that I haven’t have time to record.
So I’ve taken a break. Which sucks because I’m itching to watch more LGBTQIAA+ movies. The commercial, the indie, and the downright low budget.
Each episode I talk about my personal opinions of a film or movie (there’s a difference to me) and ask the question: how gay is this? That is a lot more subjective than you may think. If you’ve heard but never met me, you might think I’m some average joe. But I am Josie: writer, producer, and a transgender/non-binary person who constantly questions my self, the world around me, and the cinematic choices of others.
What makes me different and why should you listen? I bring insight to each movie with historical contexts, deep dives on many directors, and bring others from the Community in on the discussion when possible.
I can’t rate my own podcast since I’m biased. I think it’s wonderful! But I’m always looking for ways to improve. Luckily I have a great editor who helps with this process.
new episodes are coming soon! Please listen to Queer Film Theory on Spotify.