tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82540868657184895332024-03-13T07:47:56.863-04:00Pookie's HomeJust another gay moose from the Great White North. Photos, men, reflections, opinions, eclecticism. In other words, whatever takes my fancy. Although I've been on Blogger since 2007, I just started my own blog in Nov. 2012. Better late than never?Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-72090682089764751572013-04-03T15:48:00.000-04:002013-04-03T20:40:10.783-04:00Julie Mehretu (1970 - )<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wikipedia page for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Mehretu" target="_blank">Julie Mehretu</a>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-12203895957402529482013-03-28T21:51:00.000-04:002013-03-28T21:51:05.338-04:00The Gay Nineties<div style="text-align: justify">
<i>I'm borrowing this from a post I made to another blog in 2011</i>
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The following photos are of some of the young men who were working boys at Paresis Hall (aka Columbia Hall), one of up to six New York male for male brothels in the late 19th century. It was located on Fifth & Bowery, off of Coopers Square. The photos date from 1890 - 1899 and were either sold or given to clients.
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Billy Walsh<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pbillywalsh.jpg"><br />
Francis "The Horse" Kane<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pfrancisthehorsekane.jpg"><br />
Amos John<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pamosjohn.jpg"><br />
Charley Ford<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pcharleyford.jpg"><br />
George Horn<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pgeorgehorn.jpg"><br />
Arnold Doyle<br><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/parnolddoyle.jpg"><br />
Johny Gibson<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pjohnygibson.jpg"><br />
Danny Moore<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pdannymoore.jpg"><br />
Nathaniel "The Kid" Cullen<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pnathanielthekidcullen.jpg"><br />
Jimmy Smith<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pjimmysmith.jpg"><br />
Willy "The Bull" Pearson<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pwillythebull.jpg"><br />
Joshua<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pjoshua.jpg"><br />
Raymond<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/praymond.jpg"><br />
Tim Kelly<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/ptimkelly.jpg"><br />
Tommy O'Rourke<br /><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/ptommyorourke.jpg"><br /><br>
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The last photo is apparently of the boys masquerading as working boys of another kind. If this is in fact a true photo, it's obvious that some of the boys were quite young, in their early teens. Despite our moral perspective, I suppose it's something that shouldn't be all that surprising given the poverty of the time. Even putting aside poverty, many children left school by the time they were 14, often earlier, (the 1900 U.S. census reported only 519,000 students in public high schools, which was double what it was in 1890) and began working, taking on what we now consider to be adult roles. Something which would have carried over into areas like prostitution.<br /><br />I first saw most of these photos a few years ago on a blog. I believe it was Queerpitcher which, unfortunately, is now closed. In addition to these photos there were others, including those of clients like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Bald" target="_blank">E.C. Bald</a>, the cyclist.<br><br>
<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/pecbald.jpg"></div><br>The photos of both boys and clients had inscriptions on the back, written by one of the boys named Jacob Miller from whose collection most of these came, with names, sexual preferences and sizes (I don't mean shoe size.) You can see transcripts of two of these at the following links. A word of caution, some of the language is NSFW
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<a href="http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biob6/burke03.html" target="-blank">Two clients of Paresis Hall</a>
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<a href="http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biom6/mueller01.html" target="_blank">Another working boy</a></div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-2290562977199433322013-03-25T20:26:00.003-04:002013-03-25T20:26:36.556-04:00Pic of the Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-73701015612798492292013-03-20T10:17:00.001-04:002013-03-20T10:17:42.142-04:00The Green Fields of FranceI've recently been working on something about WWI and these seemed appropriate
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The Green Fields of France<br>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-14134284354705196812013-03-17T15:14:00.000-04:002013-03-17T15:14:20.551-04:00Bits and Bites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 4px; font-size: 90%;">Farley Granger and Roddy McDowell</td></tr>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-76919742432713624212013-03-15T06:59:00.000-04:002013-03-15T06:59:13.719-04:00Hiroshi Yoshida (1876 - 1950)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="postlink">Hiroshi Yoshida's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Yoshida" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a></div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-43142916740091632512013-03-12T09:27:00.000-04:002013-03-12T09:27:55.893-04:00Put your arms around me honey<div style="text-align: center;">
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-4949082403522174382013-03-11T16:38:00.002-04:002013-03-11T16:38:41.009-04:00Pic of the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-41881203319457486782013-03-09T10:48:00.001-05:002013-03-09T10:48:21.597-05:00Centre of stillness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.
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Dag Hammarskjold 1905 - 1961</div>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-47670881354648538022013-03-06T02:00:00.000-05:002013-03-06T07:02:28.793-05:00Nothing butt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-79950573863434384242013-03-03T06:46:00.001-05:002013-03-03T06:47:35.978-05:00Pic of the day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihAb2aDvK1M/UTM3bmzs_jI/AAAAAAAADqY/yn9h35OmIV8/s1600/0000pic037lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihAb2aDvK1M/UTM3bmzs_jI/AAAAAAAADqY/yn9h35OmIV8/s640/0000pic037lg.jpg" width="431" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 4px; font-size: 90%;">Click for larger image</td></tr>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-32267824608502467272013-02-28T15:48:00.000-05:002013-02-28T21:02:07.611-05:00Morris Lewis (1912 - 1962)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNunDaEd-oU/URQSFpOtZ9I/AAAAAAAADSY/n90JlNV0SIQ/s1600/morrislewis2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNunDaEd-oU/URQSFpOtZ9I/AAAAAAAADSY/n90JlNV0SIQ/s1600/morrislewis2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="postlink">
Wikipedia page for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Louis" target="_blank">Morris Lewis</a>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-69054350360538112392013-02-26T16:53:00.001-05:002013-02-28T21:01:31.077-05:00Centre of Stillness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv5gJ3VEXlE/US0uqIiCXII/AAAAAAAADo8/RwaQSaMXU9Y/s1600/seren005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv5gJ3VEXlE/US0uqIiCXII/AAAAAAAADo8/RwaQSaMXU9Y/s1600/seren005.jpg" /></a></div>
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We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.
<hr class="quote">
Dag Hammarskjold 1905 - 1961<br>
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</div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-4597664269752569852013-02-23T07:47:00.001-05:002013-02-23T07:47:28.995-05:00Wanna wrestle?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZkztU-BZHE/UQUs2aiSzhI/AAAAAAAADE0/kGmT9euOom8/s1600/buddies18.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZkztU-BZHE/UQUs2aiSzhI/AAAAAAAADE0/kGmT9euOom8/s1600/buddies18.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYUmfJM2P5A/UQUpPujYPPI/AAAAAAAADDQ/rxsI9w2RJyY/s1600/0000pic019.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYUmfJM2P5A/UQUpPujYPPI/AAAAAAAADDQ/rxsI9w2RJyY/s1600/0000pic019.jpg" /></a></div>
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The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.
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Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180)</div>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-72772544684079586482013-02-21T16:53:00.002-05:002013-02-21T16:53:48.346-05:00Pic of the day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 4px; font-size: 90%;">Click the photo for a larger one</td></tr>
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<br />Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-79394488175325993152013-02-18T16:53:00.000-05:002013-03-03T10:21:53.070-05:00But I'd like if we could be friends<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qsl-0VKxpk/USKhufBGJZI/AAAAAAAADmM/4v-XJ0Eg6NU/s1600/downton3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qsl-0VKxpk/USKhufBGJZI/AAAAAAAADmM/4v-XJ0Eg6NU/s1600/downton3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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Right you are Mr. Barrow, If that's all I think I can manage that.
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Thank you, Jimmy, Thank you.
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<div style="text-align: justify;">An interesting conclusion to season 3 for Thomas Barrow. Redemption of a sort and finally being able to show that he is vulnerable underneath the villainy. Jimmy Kent's capacity to forgive takes him by surprise, even though it was what he dared to hope for. He finally has a friend who perhaps will become a confidante who may take him out of his loneliness and despair. Jimmy knows that he is homosexual, but puts that and what has happened between them to one side. Something, I believe, Thomas feared no one would be able to in order to become a friend.</div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-84754544830963973252013-02-16T09:41:00.001-05:002013-02-16T09:41:35.137-05:00Pic of the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MedwNp2dXtI/UR-aYjKbX6I/AAAAAAAADk4/xR_kKYX36Fw/s1600/0000pic030.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MedwNp2dXtI/UR-aYjKbX6I/AAAAAAAADk4/xR_kKYX36Fw/s1600/0000pic030.jpg" /></a></div>
Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-76855013583366380572013-02-14T02:00:00.000-05:002013-02-14T02:00:05.965-05:00Wishing you someone to love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1105VzKbIWM/URu5y9xIz_I/AAAAAAAADho/83Eq-W3o4AM/s1600/valentines.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1105VzKbIWM/URu5y9xIz_I/AAAAAAAADho/83Eq-W3o4AM/s1600/valentines.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-snYDl1zzSQc/URu6CqQZTTI/AAAAAAAADhw/3AUN0jCf5jo/s1600/embrace001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-snYDl1zzSQc/URu6CqQZTTI/AAAAAAAADhw/3AUN0jCf5jo/s1600/embrace001.jpg" /></a></div>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-11754019101848364152013-02-13T11:14:00.000-05:002013-02-13T11:14:19.220-05:00Centre of stillness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d-mHOVLUKbY/URu7p9NkOPI/AAAAAAAADic/LAZS6KYCpdU/s1600/seren009.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d-mHOVLUKbY/URu7p9NkOPI/AAAAAAAADic/LAZS6KYCpdU/s1600/seren009.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center; width: 240px; margin: auto;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.
<hr class="quote">
Dag Hammarskjold 1905 - 1961<br>
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</div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-66184128884463748852013-02-12T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-12T08:16:49.203-05:00Edvard Munch (1863 - 1944)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1jeq3OJ4_pU/URQTtblU0mI/AAAAAAAADTI/7N7-aD10sUc/s1600/edvardmunch2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1jeq3OJ4_pU/URQTtblU0mI/AAAAAAAADTI/7N7-aD10sUc/s1600/edvardmunch2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2mdWdgAbZw/URQTuE1IirI/AAAAAAAADTc/7nkHwE8yM3c/s1600/edvardmunch4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2mdWdgAbZw/URQTuE1IirI/AAAAAAAADTc/7nkHwE8yM3c/s1600/edvardmunch4.jpg" /></a></div>
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In a dark time, the eye begins to see,<br>
I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;<br>
I hear my echo in the echoing wood-- <br>
A lord of nature weeping to a tree,<br>
I live between the heron and the wren,<br>
Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den.<br>
<br>
What's madness but nobility of soul <br>
At odds with circumstance? The day's on fire!<br>
I know the purity of pure despair,<br>
My shadow pinned against a sweating wall,<br>
That place among the rocks--is it a cave,<br>
Or winding path? The edge is what I have.<br>
<br>
A steady storm of correspondences! <br>
A night flowing with birds, a ragged moon,<br>
And in broad day the midnight come again!<br>
A man goes far to find out what he is-- <br>
Death of the self in a long, tearless night,<br>
All natural shapes blazing unnatural light.<br>
<br>
Dark,dark my light, and darker my desire.<br>
My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly,<br>
Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I?<br>
A fallen man, I climb out of my fear.<br>
The mind enters itself, and God the mind,<br>
And one is One, free in the tearing wind.
<hr class="quote">
Theodore Roethke (1908 - 1963)<br>
<i>In a Dark Time</i>
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-15870195330620250632013-02-12T02:01:00.001-05:002013-02-12T02:01:01.366-05:00But isn't Thomas Barrow a sexual predator?<div style="text-align: justify;">
** Sorry if the title is a bit of a spoiler, but if you have not seen <i>Downton Abbey</i> season 3 stop reading now **
<hr class="quote">
That question came by email in reaction to <a href="http://pookieshome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/im-not-foul.html" target="_blank">my analysis of Thomas Barrow</a>. Really? That is what you took away from my post?
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No he is not. “Sexual predator” is fraught with all kinds of emotional connotations, but at its core is the assumption that the victim has been hunted and that the hunter has likely used guile and deception or a position of power to achieve his goal.
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You cannot point to that in Thomas’s behavior. He was overly familiar with Jimmy in the way he touched him, but that was meant to test his reaction. Thomas himself said when confronted by Carson that no one could speak out and he had to read the signs that someone was like him. When Jimmy did not rebuke him it lead him to believe he might feel the same way.
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What he missed, of course, were Jimmy’s facial expressions and that he in no way reciprocated. If Jimmy had said something or even gently moved his hand away that would have been the end of it. Thomas would never intentionally place himself in a position that might lead to his exposure and loss of his livelihood. I am not blaming Jimmy for any of this. He was manipulated into believing that rebuking Thomas could hinder his advancement or even lead to his dismissal, but it was not Thomas who did it.
<br><br>
And then there was the kiss. In Thomas’s scenes leading up to it you can see his agitation, his uncertainty and his hesitation. Even as he is about to lean in to kiss Jimmy he pauses in what could be seen as anticipation, but is just as easily trepidation. This is not the end of a hunt nor is it a well-thought-out plan. It is impulse fueled by desire, desperation and misunderstanding. Had Thomas thought to awaken Jimmy to ask him, to find out if what he sensed was real, there would have been some uncomfortable moments, but none of what followed would have happened. But then that would not make for a good story
</div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-32585316789794166592013-02-11T08:34:00.000-05:002013-02-11T08:34:13.689-05:00Pic of the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-69198662598947098412013-02-11T02:00:00.000-05:002013-02-11T09:39:55.046-05:00I'm not foul<div style="text-align: justify;">
**If you haven't seen season 3 of <i>Downton Abbey</i>, you should stop reading now**
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<img src="http://www.pookieshome.com/thomasbarrow1.jpg" style="float: left; padding-right: 5px;">Downton Abbey season 3 was <a href="http://pookieshome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/downton-shabby.html" target="_blank">mostly disappointing</a>, but Fellowes' decision to add some humanity to Thomas Barrow's otherwise unpleasant character proved a highlight. Barrow, portrayed by Rob James-Collier, is the main antagonist of the series. He is concerned for only one person - himself - and he will do anything to ensure he comes out ahead no matter whom he has to walk over in the process. And he is gay. Generally I have a problem with gay villains because the history of their portrayal is littered with stereotypes where their homosexuality is the root of their evil. To a certain extent that would appear to be the case here, but it is not that cut and dried.
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Living a closeted existence in Edwardian England would have been grinding. The threat of jail, the potential loss of employment and never being able to work again, the social stigma and the isolation, all would have had an impact on him. But others managed without becoming as mean, conniving, and spiteful as Thomas. At his core, Thomas is insecure and is driven to overcome his insecurity by any means possible, to gain a measure of control. His insecurity is apparent when he says after Lady Sybil's death, "In my life, I can tell you, not many have been kind to me. She was one of the few." Putting aside the reasons why people have not been kind, it is his reaction to this lack of kindness that has shaped him. While the way society forces him to deal with his homosexuality feeds into that insecurity, his homosexuality is not its cause. It is, in fact, what shows he is more than what we see.
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Prior to season 3 there were glimpses of this, most notably in his affair with the Duke of Crowborough. In that case it was not Thomas who took advantage but rather the Duke who reneged on his promise to take Thomas away with him. This type of rejection is difficult for anyone, but given Thomas's insecurity it only served to make him withdraw further and become more intent to come out on top no matter what the cost. To his credit, Fellowes does not appear to use Thomas's homosexuality as a crutch to explain what makes Thomas a villain. In fact, other than the Crowborough affair and a few other references, by the time season 2 rolled around Thomas might as well have been asexual.
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In season 3 that changes. Jimmy Kent, the new footman, appears out of nowhere in the kitchen and you can immediately see his effect on Thomas. What follows is not really Thomas's fault. Thanks to O'Brien's plotting and his own surprising naïveté he begins to hope that he has finally found someone, but that all comes to an end when egged on by O'Brien's comments about how Jimmy has a crush on him and throwing caution to the wind, he gathers his nerve to go to Jimmy's room one night and kisses him as he sleeps. That is not the smartest move when all he really has to go on is what O'Brien has told him, but suppressed desire that seems about to be fulfilled can override good judgment no matter what your sexuality. Jimmy is outraged and to make matters worse Alfred Nugent, the other footman, witnessed the entire scene. Jimmy's rejection devastates Thomas, but that is only the beginning.
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When Thomas is finally outed to the butler Carson, it would appear that his time at Downton is over. His homosexuality has lead to his downfall, but surprisingly this is where the change begins. To Carson's accusation that he is foul, Thomas replies, "I'm not foul, Mr. Carson. I'm not the same as you, but I'm not foul." Thomas does not see his homosexuality as a curse. It is something he must hide, but not something he is ashamed of. I believe this is the point where Fellowes completely backs away from homosexuality as the cause of Thomas's dysfunction.
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This is further supported when Thomas prevents two men from robbing and beating Jimmy by stepping in an taking the beating himself. Given what has occurred between them, including Jimmy's insistence that Thomas be sent away from Downton with a bad reference, essentially ensuring he would never work again, the old Thomas would have relished letting that happen to him. But he still has feelings for Jimmy and it is those, in other words his homosexuality, that spur his unselfish act; unselfish in so far as he knows that his actions will not change Jimmy. Ultimately Thomas's gayness is what proves to make him human and to show he is capable of kindness. And ultimately it is what makes Jimmy his friend, putting an end to his isolation.
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What remains to be seen is how this plays out in season 4. Will there be a softer, kinder Thomas or will he completely revert to his old ways? Will his friendship with Jimmy flourish? How will Fellowes deal with a villain who is more than just a villain? The answers to these, assuming they are in fact answered, may be what will make season 4 worth watching.
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<div style="text-align: center;">A tug at your heartstrings<br><iframe width="720" height="405" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9CMBp_wqS4g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-23097562635803877122013-02-10T02:00:00.000-05:002013-02-10T02:00:08.471-05:00Downton Shabby<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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**If you haven't seen season 3, you should stop reading now**
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What the hell happened? Seasons one and two were basically good. At its core the series was another <i>Upstairs, Downstairs</i> and while it lacked the strengths of that series, it was an enjoyable way to pass an hour. But season 3 is another matter.
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Too many of the characters have become mere caricatures - Robert, Earl of Grantham, the dolt, Lady Mary the bitch, Tom Branson the emasculated revolutionary, Matthew Crawley the henpecked husband, Cora, Countess of Grantham, - well, she was always two dimensional. Even Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, only shines on occasion before settling back into one-line witticisms. There are exceptions of course, but, for instance, the decision to develop Thomas Barrow's<sup style="font-size: 60%;">1</sup> character beyond a mean, conniving, thieving, unpleasant man and to show a softer, more emotional side (hints of which were in earlier episodes but soon ignored) isn't enough. On the whole, belowstairs comes off a little better, but they are treading water. The introduction of Alfred Nugent and Jimmy Kent as the new footmen seemed promising, but they have become like two little boys set loose among the china.
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Julian Fellowes seems to have lost his way. Perhaps all the characters have become too much for him because they seem to have stretched his creativity beyond his ability. Fellowes is promising new characters for season 4, I assume in hopes of invigorating the story lines and filling the gaps left by deaths this season, but he would be better to spend more time invigorating the existing characters and developing their interactions. He has actors who are more than capable if given the right material. In a story that is character driven, if the characters don't grow the story withers. It may seem I'm being harsh, but it will be interesting to see if season 4 can redeem its quality or send it, like the Titanic of its first episode, to the bottom.
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<div style="font-size: 85%;">1 More on Thomas Barrow in a future post</div>
Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254086865718489533.post-59120407581166509062013-02-09T07:30:00.000-05:002013-02-09T07:30:01.027-05:00Just a glimpse<div style="text-align: center;">
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Pookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15157558411952131033noreply@blogger.com0