One does not need to suffer from any sort of impaired sense to enjoy Impaired Ocular Acuity and Other Demented Synapses, an Untidy Collection of Short Stories and Essays by author K.J., although being a bit demented, and bent, does help immensely.  It also helps to have an appreciation for the obvious theme: Beautiful young men.

K.J. bounces us back and forth across The Pond in his collection of seven short stories that celebrate male youth, beauty, and love. This collection begins in the States, always rural, but takes one mischievous journey through time to early twentieth century Great Britain, all the while K.J. shifting his writing effortlessly from American teen-speak to Texas drawl and even a style of English today only attributed tongue-in-cheek to the British Royals. We’re transported to these places and relate to the characters because we imagine them speaking the way K.J. weaves their dialog.

Once the reader is swept up in each story the end becomes clear, almost predictable, but Impaired Ocular Acuity and Other Demented Synapses is not about the destination; it’s about each journey and what can be learned along the way. We know the characters; they’re young, male, beautiful in various ways, whether they be pretty or handsome, and on a journey of discovery the author invites us to join. To the youthful reader they might long for a similar journey of their own. And for those who have already aged gracefully into the comfort of their own sexualities, they will be reminded of the eureka moments of their lives when they first took a fancy to a lovely face or a rhythmic sway of a tight bottom and wondered what they were looking at and what the strange warm feeling that came over them really meant.

The entire collection is a quick read that keeps us engaged in the discovery process. The first, Impaired Ocular Acuity, is a satisfying ‘gotcha’, but the longest, The Aroma of Coffee, is much more about erotic discovery and the love that may spring from it. And the reader must be prepared for an unsuspected surprise at the end of Sotto Voce, which, like some of the other stories, has an underlying theme that celebrates the love of music.

Author K.J. wraps his collection up with nine short essays; thoughts he calls The Preponderance of Evidence. Although not necessarily on theme with the short stories, they are thought provoking nevertheless, so in that sense the entire enterprise is meant to make us think. K.J. helps us ponder our youth, the beauty of young men, discovery, loss, music and how we best enjoy the use of our senses.

K.J.'s MySpace

This story took over ten years to write. It began in 1988 when Earl was going to Fresno City College. It's a story about a young gay man in Fresno, California who develops a wicked crush on a guy he sees at a bar (a not uncommon occurrence for the author at the time)… Many people Earl knew in real life became templates for characters in the story, including me. No character was really a true-life character study; of course, the story is fiction, with dramatic license taken where the plot dictated. It is true that some true-life events were incorporated into the story. For example, the rapid increase in the popularity of drag in Fresno in the early '90s… and the rise of a certain notorious group of misfits who challenged the drag status quo. This novel takes place in six volumes, covering more than five years of the life of the main character, Paul. The story begins with his attraction and obsession with David, who in the story is arguably the most attractive man in Fresno. Does Paul, a completely ordinary guy have even a prayer of a chance with David, AKA Mr. Perfect? Click the link below to find out, and hit Earl up for a friend request while you're at it.


PS: The drag queens don't even enter the story until Volume 2, so if drunken tales of ribaldry amongst the fashionably gender-twisted are what you're looking for, be patient. It'll be worth it.

Click the link below and use the archive link to the left of the blog page to go to the begining of the novel.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=245120788

Starved for gay culture, whether it be high or low? Then I recommend

BAMBOO NATION

Where writer/performer PRINCE GOMOLVILAS
blogs about high culture, low culture,
and most importantly...himself.

Prince has been accused of narcissism, solipsism, and circumcision, and he is proud to admit that at least two of those accusations are true. His plays include BIG HUNK O' BURNIN' LOVE, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, BEE, and the stage adaptation of MYSTERIOUS SKIN, which have been produced around the country and in Singapore. He received the PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Drama; East West Players' Made in America Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement for the Asian Pacific Islander Community; a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; and a screenwriting fellowship from The Chesterfield Writer's Film Project, a program sponsored by Paramount Pictures. He also tours around the country with musician Brandon Patton as part of the storytelling, song-singing, game-playing, comic duo, JUKEBOX STORIES. He lives and writes in Los Angeles, with extended visits to San Francisco.

Hey everybody! Sexy up 'n coming Australian pop artist Dan Knight has recently released his album Energy. If you love the tunes you bounce to at the clubs, you'll love Energy! Click here to check out Dan's latest music videos, and click here to contact Dan and order Energy through his MySpace.

Obi are the top-most sash worn with various styles of Japanese kimono; several other sashes may be worn under the obi to secure the clothing in place and/or to enhance the shape of the body or of the uppermost sash.

The fukuro obi was created in the late 1920s as an alternative to the stiffer, heavier, less comfortable, old style maru obi. Today the fukuro obi is the most formal. It is made with fine silk brocade or tapestry, which is patterned along 60% of its length on one side. The back of the fukuro is lined with a plain silk or brocade in a color that compliments the pattern.

Fukuro obi run about 13 feet long and a foot wide and may be tied in many different fashions. Because of the difficulty of tying something so large, obi tying is a dying art and often professional 'dressers' must be employed to dress a woman properly in her kimono attire.

My fukuro obi are designed to be worn with a full woman's kimono and are about 30 to 50 years old. I use them to hang on doors in order to dress up what would otherwise be a very boring entry into another room.

Although formal fukuro obi might have cost about 100,000 Yen ($1,000 U.S.) when purchased new, because Japanese kimono and accessories lose value as second hand items, they can be purchased for $50 to $100 U.S. from wholesale dealers in vintage Japanese clothing.

This is my iromuji (色無地) kimono. Iromuji are distinctive for being dyed up in one color. This one is dyed silk with figuring known as rinzu, similar to jacquard, and is about 40 to 50 years old.

 Iromuji become formal dress when there is a family crest or kamon; in this case the kamon is the mokkou of the samurai clans Oda, Omura, Armina, Ikeda, Onodera, Takigawa, Takahashi, Wada, Naito, and Mikumo. It is also possible to wear iromuji as dress-wear when there is no crest by adding a formal furkuro or maru obi.  Iromuji may also be worn in many semiformal occasions such as informal gatherings and tea parties, and may be worn by any woman regardless of age or marital status.

When purchased new, this style kimono sold for 100,000 to 250,000 Yen ($1,000 - $2,500 U.S.). Kimono are like cars; when you drive them off the lot they lose their value. A used iromuji kimono without major flaws like this one can be purchased from a kimono wholesaler for about $100 to $150 U.S.

This is my formal kurotomesode (黒留袖) kimono. It's all silk and about 40 to 50 years old.

Kurotomesode are black kimono patterned only below the waistline. They are used by married women for formal occasions, and are often worn by the mothers of the bride and groom at weddings.

Kurotomesode usually have five family crests or kamon printed on the sleeves, chest and back of the kimono. In this case the kamon is a ginkgo flower, or tachi omodaka, of the samurai clans Mizuno, Oyamada, Akizuki Fukushima, and Kinoshita.

The pattern of flying cranes, symbolizing honor, loyalty, longevity, and good fortune, is hand painted and embellished with gold embroidery.

When purchased new, this style kimono sold for 250,000 to 400,000 Yen ($2,500 - $4,000 U.S.). Kimono are like cars; when you drive them off the lot they lose their value. A used kurotomesode kimono without major flaws like this one can be purchased from a kimono wholesaler for about $100 to $150 U.S.

This is my formal hōmongi (訪問着) kimono. It's all silk and about 40 to 50 years old.

The hōmongi kimono replaces the role of the furisode of an unmarried woman. The hōmongi is given to a woman by her family when she marries to signify her womanhood. It's less colorful and attention-drawing than a furisode, but can still be worn by unmarried women.

Directly translated hōmongi means "visiting wear", and this style was very popular among the upper-class women of the Meiji period (1868-1912) as formal dress for going out on the town. The hōmongi is the most ostentatious kimono for married women, and the second most for unmarried women. These days the hōmongi kimono is most commonly worn to tea ceremonies and weddings. 

The hōmongi is characterized by flamboyant and colorful patterns running continuously over the seams. The sleeve length varies and unmarried women wear them longer.

Hōmongi are mostly worn with a fukuro obi with a matching obiage and obijime.

When purchased new, this style kimono sold for 300,000 to 500,000 Yen ($3,000 - $5,000 U.S.). Kimono are like cars; when you drive them off the lot they lose their value. A used hōmongi kimono without major flaws like this one can be purchased from a kimono wholesaler for about $150 to $250 U.S.

Here's a beautiful komon (小紋) kimono that I own. It's all silk and about 40 to 50 years old. Komon translates as "fine pattern", as this type of kimono has a small, repeated pattern throughout the garment. This style is somewhat casual and may be worn around town, or dressed up with a formal obi for a restaurant. Both married and unmarried women may wear the komon style.

When purchased new this style kimono ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 Yen ($1,000 - $3,000 U.S.). Kimono are like cars; once you drive them off the lot they lose their value. A used kimon kimono like this one, without major flaws, can be purchased from kimono wholesalers for $100 to $200 U.S.