Updated 6/5/2009
All of chapter 3 is now online. You find out what Beef Matson finds in
his search for hidden mobster rooms, you learn all about the "creature"
and much more. There's some interesting color illustrations and a comic
strip version of part of the chapter as well!
The
masculine San Francisco gay detective who sleeps with a teddy bear is
back in a new adventure called "Catch A Falling Star" which
is a prequel to "A Person In A Position Of Trust". This adventure
has a science fiction theme and has our detective hero involved with political
intrigue, mysterious murders and a journey on a luxury trans continental
train.
To contact
Rick Chris regarding your comments, sales, commissioned paintings or illustrations,
advertising, etc., click on the button below. To contact Rick Chris,
send your email to: "rickchris 'at' (use the at symbol above the
2 on your keyboard) rickchris.com"
I
Gets Emails
" just
a note. I'm a big fan of the Beef Matson stories. I like to come
back and read your first story over and over and visit with your characters
again. For me, the stories especially the first one, are like comfort
food for my soul. Your stories are so much like Charles Dickens novels,
but contemporary and I think if Dickens were alive today and gay, he would
write stories very much like yours. Your winding story lines involving
many characters are very much like Dickens as well as your doses of social
satire and the mysterious villains. the happy ending in the first
story is something very much like Dickens would have come up with, only
so much better.
You've worked
in the issues of the day with corrupt corporate managers, crooked mortgage
brokers, right wing extremists. These are things everybody's had experiences
with the past few years unless they've been living under a rock. some
of your characters remind me so much of people I have known you must have
drawn them from real life.
I can't imagine
you're making any money from the Matson stories but I really wish you
would publish more of them. I just love reading new parts of the new story,
but the last time you posted a new chapter was back around Christmas!
Maybe you could get somebody interested in publishing them then you could
afford to spend more time coming up with more of the marvelous Beef Matson
for us.
Keep up the
good work!"
- Ben, Philadelphia
To be put
on the Rick Chris e-newsletter list, and receive news about new artwork,
and updates about the web site, send your email
to: "rickchris 'at' (use the at symbol above the 2 on your keyboard)
rickchris.com". Put "subscribe" in
the header of your email along with whatever message you'd like to send
me. Your email address will never be given to anyone else and will never
be used for anything other than the e-newsletter.
It's a pro gay marriage
rally at the state capitol.
November
2, 2008
My last word on the subject of gay marriage. If you don't like the idea
of two people of the same sex being married -- don't marry someone of
the same sex. Period.
Previous
Rant-O-Ramas are achived on the Speaking
Out page.
*******
For
gay friendly framing in the Greater Denver area, Rick Chris recommends:
The
Great Frame Up 1017 East 9th Avenue
Denver, CO 80218
Tel: 303-837-8846 Web
Site
Notes:
Happy Belated Canada Day and check out Bonnie's new LGBT Community Resources
Toolbar down below under the SHOUTOUT header.
Sadly
I just learned of the passing (July 1) of Mary Isobel "Mollie"
Sugden of the TV series "Are You Being Served". She played
the venerable Mrs. Slocumbe of the ladies ready to wear department
of Grace's Department store. She will be greatly remembered and
missed - and I am unanimous in that.
I tell you what let's all head down to Grace Brother's Department
Store and say hi to the gang in Gent's and Ladies Ready To Wear. Click
here.
New
On the Purchase Gallery page!
A new painting
just for pride weekend. It's called "Pride Smootching". Just
click on the above image to go to the Purchase gallery.
And now
for something completely different. The sleepin' on your feet scene
from Brokeback Mountain rendered on hand embossed paper! Sweet!
Click on image to go to Purchase Gallery page, scroll down to Brokeback
Mountain images.
Jack and Ennis at the motel. (Brokeback Mountain)
A dynamic view of the prom dance from Queer As Folk.
Brian and
Justin getting intimate at the prom. (Queer As Folk)
Economical
and very collectible smaller original paintings. Check them
out!
Just a note
to let everyone know, my paintings are NOT computer generated images.
I do my paintings the traditional way, by hand and start with a pencil
sketch and work my way to the finished painting. So what you are getting
is a product of my skill and not a software program.
During these rough times
I
know things are kind of rough out there for a lot of folks and the only
magic I have to share with you is through my art and my little web site.
If you are having bumpy day, I'd like to share my Affirmations page with
you. It's one of the oldest pages on rickchris.com. Maybe you can use
that page to build a little magic, gather a little grace and get the strength
to help you through your trials. "Where is the night luster? Past
my trials " Click here.
VIDEOS
Newer videos include a cartoon about
a fast food clerk who looks like Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Zuckerman's
cover of Sweet Dreams.
Spare
Change For The Rick Chris Cookie Jar:
During these tough economic times, your donation would certainly help
keep my little web site going. If you enjoy the various features on rickchris.com,
please help support this web site through a donation. Any amount is helpful.
Many thanks! - Rick Chris
******
The
not yet ready for prime time blog. The blog is something new - see
how long it lasts. Doing a blog also violates one of my primary principles
which is "Keep your mouth shut, Rick!"
June
28 , 2009
To contact Rick Chris, send your email to: "rickchris 'at' (use
the at symbol above the 2 on your keyboard) rickchris.com"
posted
6/28/09 Her Name Is Lucy and She Honors Her Gay Father I first encountered this young lady at Pridefest in 2007(see 2007 album)
and I was curious as to why she was carrying this sign around the festival
grounds. The sign had a photo of a man dressed in a WWII uniform. I
stopped and asked her some questions and she revealed that the photo
was of her father and that he was gay. Her father had died in the mid-1980s
and never attended a gay pride activity. To make up for that, she puts
on her father's medal and carries the sign through the pride festival
grounds. After I had published an article about her on my front page
back in 2007, I received a number of emails from people who were very
touched by her actions.
I
saw the woman again at this year's pridefest and I stopped to talk with
her again. This time I learned her name is Lucy and she told me she
had just returned from Italywhere she had scattered some
of her father's ashes in places where he had been during his tour in
World War II. A tip of the Rick Chris hat and a deep bow goes out to
Lucy - truly such a devotion from a loving daughter is more than any
father could hope for.
posted
6/28/09 My Last Pridefest The 2009 Denver pridefest will be the last one I will be attending.
I'll blog more on this later. I put together an album of photos I took
at the festival. You can view the photos here
PRIDE 2009.
posted
5/9/09 Are We Having Fun Yet? Actually not. The Great Recession is enough all by itself to
deal with and then recently I suddenly developed a vision problem with
one of my eyes. I've been told the vision problem will thankfully eventually
clear up all by itself. Then, if that wasn't enough, without warning,
my computer, with some snaps, crackles and a lot of pops, suddenly died
of a short circuit, which I found is something that is unrepairable.
Took me awhile, but I found a replacement computer which is a step above
the old computer. The new computer is used and also needed a repair
which I was able to do myself with the use of a part from another motherboard
I had. What great fun NOT! After all that wasted time I'm now trying
to get back to my various projects.
Regarding
the Beef Matson contest, because of all the time I lost, I have decided
to extend the contest deadline to the middle of June. That will give
me time to finish an original painting I had planned to give away for
the contest, so I could display that as prize on the web site. It might
also be more festive to have the contest end during Pride month.
posted
4/23/09 Nope, It's All Handmade Apparently somebody's been spreading a falsehood that my art
is computer generated. I guess this is because most of the art they
are familiar with is art they've seen on the group posting sites where
people have used Photoshop to create images by tweaking photos. So me
thinks that those people think that all artwork is created in Photoshop.
Nope. In my case my artwork is all by hand. I first start out with a
pencil sketch and then begin to paint in a time consuming step by step
process. The traditional non-computer software approach. So what you
see in my images is what I am able to produce through my own two little
hands using pencils, brushes, paint, etc and there isn't any CGI (computer
generated imagery) involved. I think this is way my paintings have a
softer feel to them than the computer images.
THE
CONTEST HAS ENDED! The winner's casting choices for the imaginary movie
are brilliant! I'm sure you will find them interesting.
The
winner is Justin in Connecticut and I think Justin's casting choices
for an imaginary movie of A PERSON IN A POSITION OF TRUST are simply
brilliant. Justin's entry was the obvious winner because his picks were
very well thought out with good reasoning behind his choices as well
as his unique choices of actors to play certain characters. What probably
did help Justin is that he is employed in the entertainment industry
and he's a big fan of the Beef Matson stories.
Now
that the contest has ended, I can also reveal my choices for actors
in an imaginary movie of APIAPOT. In my mind, I actually had few ideas
for actors to play the various characters. I didn't cast anyone to play
Randy or Brett and the characters Gloria and Bessie were solely based
on two women I had worked with. However, I did see Patrick Warburton
as making an excellent Beef Matson, though when I proofed and reformated
the text for web publishing, I'd see other actors as Matson. I saw Rosanne
playing Blanche the waitress. I also visioned Rosie O'Donnell as Berry
Starr, the lawyer. Finally, for God, I at first pictured the Almighty
as being played by Burl Ives, the folk singer, and then later I saw
Bruce Vilanch as God. I saw a slick devil being played by Kelsey Grammer.
However,
I think you'll find Justin's picks very intelligent and much more interesting
than mine. Here are Casting Director Justin's choices, and his comments
about his choices, for A PERSON IN A POSITION OF TRUST, the movie!
Private
Investigator Lynn Gordon (Beef) Matson - Patrick Warburton For the obvious physical appearance but also he is very masculine
and purposful in the way he carries himself. He has has the height
and physical body to. He is matter of fact.
Matson's
assistant, Randy Hardwicke - Randy Harrison
Lawyer
Berry Starr - Cherry Jones Out of the closet since beginning her professional career
in 1980. Cherry has been an out spoken advocate for gay rights ever
since.
Berry's
partner, Bobbi - Sarah Paulson Cherry
Jones real life partner and a good actress. She plays Diane Keaton's
lesbian daughter in "The Other Sister".
Randy's
lover Brett Parker - Josh Lucas Actually played a gay man in "The Deep End". He is more mature
than Randy and to me Randy would have felt safe in his arms when
he held him.
Blanche,
wisecracking waitress at the Cozy Cup - Lily Tomlin
Dorothy,
the other Cozy Cup waitress - Park Overall
Minerva,
the mystic- Carole Cook After seeing her play a spiritualist on Charlies Angel's. I will
forever see her as one! She is still alive!
Gloria
- Lee Meriwether I pick her because she is a dead ringer for Anita Bryant and
an actress. She also reminds me of Gloria in the story.
Bessie
- Marcia Gay Harden There is something very caustic about her.
God
- Jack Nicholson Because I imagine God with a sick sense of humor. I wouldn't
be surprised if it was Jack Nicholson.
The
devil
- The miserable homophobicMickey Roarke.
Berry
Starr's mother - Jayne Eastwood
Franklin,
the ghost who lived in Randy's apartment - Clifton Davis
would be perfect. Even being a little older I see him as Franklin.
Change up the clothes and you have him.
Larry
Doolin, the menacing stalker - Timothy HuttonHe exudes what
could be kind and unassuming charisma but I see a very dark side
to him. People being surprised but not surprised by what he is capable
of. He is extremley weathered and I don't think looking as good
as he could because of his own drinking and substance abuse issues.
A once handsome man now an embittered one.
The
Angel - Andy HalletHe could be serious but when he made
you laugh you couldn't stop. He played Lorne on Angel. He was also
a professional singer. When I think of an Angel he would have to
sing. Sadly I found out he just died of heart failure.
COMMENT:
Nicholson
as God. Might work in a whimsical sort of way. - M.F.
COMMENT:
When I saw his picks for the women characters, I just love those actors
so I had to rush through and read your story. I think those are very
good picks. - L.A.N.
COMMENT:
The idea of Jack Nicholson as God intrigued me. Took me awhile to find
the chapter where the devil confronts God. When I read that section
the mental image I got of Nicholson and Roarke arguing was incredible.
A scene like that should be put on film. - Annie
COMMENT:
Clifton Davis and Lee Meriwether! OMG - I haven't thought about them
in years! - Jeff
COMMENT:
The contests results were interesting but ---my question is what was
the point in running a contest for the first beef story? Why try to
get people interested in the Matson stories when you don't bothr to
publish it regular. The thing is it takes you FOREVER to publish new
parts to the story. Why get people interested in your stories if it
take you F*KN forever to post a new chapter? If you want to publish
a serial then do it on a regular basis.
To
add your comments: rickchris (at) rickchris.com
******
Putting the spotlight on those who add value to
the gay community through their creativity, talent and achievement.
The Shout Out column is open to any gay creative type, performer, writer,
artist, etc. I know how challenging it can be for gay creative types,
so this is my small way of trying to lend a helping hand by offering
a little publicity. Just send an email (rickchris@rickchris.com) about
yourself or someone you would like to be spotlighted. The cost? You
only have to promise that you're going to try to be rich, famous and
successful. I also accept news releases for shows, benefits and events.
*******
World
Wide Gay Resources With LGBT CAT Toolbar
Bonnie,
from White Plains, New York contacted me about her new LGBT CAT (Community
Access Toolbar) which is now available via free download. Bonnie was
thinking of a way to help the LGBT community, and since she has a lot
of experience with computers, buillding and repairing them, she came
up with the idea of the toolbar. The toolbar is free and Bonnie never
charges a fee for anything she does for the community. Bonnie found
she can make some money through downloads of the toolbar and she is
going to donate that money to the community center she is active with,
The LOFT in White Plains, NY.
Regarding
Bonnie herself, she has been active in volunteering in the community
and around the country with the Red Cross (25 years now) Disaster Services,
was involved during 9/11 disaster operations, a former New York State
law enforcement officer, EMT, advocate for the mentally ill and persons
with disABILITIES, advocate for the LGBT community, helping animals,
etc. You can check out her rather informative and interesting official
website for more details: Home
page of KA1YMC
"Did
you ever wonder what a producer or engineer on an album really
does, and what the difference is? Well, you can find out on my
May Queer Music Heritage show. My feature interview is with Karen
Kane. She's both a producer and an engineer and has had over 200
album credits, and countless live shows, in her career. She's
been at it for more than 33 years, and her work includes many,
many recording by gay & lesbian artists."
QMH
host, JD Doyle
Part
1 - Airdate May 25 - 58:00 min
Charlie Murphy - Gay Spirit (1979)
Jade & Sarsaparilla - She's That Kind of Woman (1976)
Lilith - Boston Ride (1978)
Maxine Feldman - Amazon (1979)
Kay Gardner - Awakening (1984)
Alix Dobkin - Yahoo Australia (1990)
Fabulous Dyketones - Sixteen Candles (1988)
Janis Ian - Hunger (1999)
Someone's Sister - Free (2009, before & after)
Anna Gutmanis - I Am Who I Am (2008)
Part
2 - 68:03 min - Internet Only
Marcia Taylor - Solid Ground (1983)
Joanna Cazden - Sunny Winter (1977)
Bright Morning Star - Vine & Fig Tree (1981)
Charlie King - George's Trip (1979)
Fred Small - Everything Possible (1985)
Nancy Tucker - Heaven Is Gaining Altitude (1983)
Susan Graetz - More Pretty Girls Than One (1984)
Suede - The Ones Who Aren't Here (1988)
Muse - CincinnatiÕs Women's Choir - Good Friends Are the Best
(1990)
Yagottawanna - Moonflower (1993)
Wishing Chair - Sometimes (1996)
Ember Swift - Quickly (1999)
Vicki Blankenship - Feels Good Home (2005)
Alix Olson - Bedtime Poem (2003)
Amy Lashley - 1 + 1 (2008, before & after)
Fred Small - Annie (1991)
You
can stream or download the show anytime, Click here.
Part
1 will air on the show Queer Voices, on KPFT in Houston, 90.1
fm, on Monday May 25, 2009, at 10pm, and the station netcasts
at www.kpft.org
Rick
Chris very much recommends the Queer Music Heritage web
site. If you are at all into music and would like to see how much
gay performers have contributed to the music scene over the years,
this site is a MUST SEE. For those of us who love music, JD
Doyle has catalogued an incredible amount of information on
gay artists and albums including some incredible rare stuff. A
fun site to visit and JD has done a great service for the gay
community by preserving the history and memory of these artists
and recordings. QMH is also a radio show on KPFT radio
in Houston, Texas and is also netcast. JD writes:
"Queer
Music Heritage" is both a radio show and a website, and the goal
of both is to preserve and share the music of our culture, because I
just don't think gay & lesbian music of the past should be forgotten.
I also believe our music culture is a visual as well as an audial experience,
so I try to share the images of this music photos of the artists
and recordings, and to pack in as much information as possible, while
still trying to entertain.
There
are also many extra sections, such as a page of Gay Marriage Songs (with
free downloads), a page of songs about Matthew Shepard, a section on
Gay Musicals, lots of info about drag artists, a page listing songs
about AIDS, etc, etc."
*******
*******
New
inside the Rick Chris Closet
Let me take you to the November 15, 2009 Anti-Prop 8 demonstrations
in Denver. Click here.
Buff's
Tufftalk
Exploring man to man relationships from a top man's perspective.For top
men who care about their relationships. Setting a responsible example
while pursuing our gay identity.
Good
As You (G-A-Y) Gay and lesbian activism with a sense of humor.
LGBT
Minute
Newsy commentary about the latest community issues by a delightful, positive
soul named Bonnie.
The
Male Vagabondage Italiano.
Un viaggio attraverso una cultura tutta al maschile nel tentativo di scoprire
e riscoprire nuovi e vecchi orizzonti artistici. L'obiettivo primario
di questo blog é quello di analizzare, principalmente attraverso
le immagini, l'eros maschile in tutte le sue possibili espressioni artistiche.
Andrew
Sullivan
Web site and blog of writer, columnist, essayist Andrew Sullivan. Author
of Virtually Normal - An Argument About Homosexuality and other
books.
Classic Top Forty rock and roll radio by the
master.
Queer
Music Heritage An internet music museum site and
radio show devoted to GLBT music hosted by the cognoscenti of gay music,
JD Doyle.
Below
are some of Rick Chris's favorite Live365 radio stations. The following
listed stations can also be accessed through the Live365 widget below.
WGAY
365
Fun and upbeat original Classic Disco and Dance
with extended plays and special mixes plus lounge tunes including Streisand,
Garland and Minelli. Stereo, 32
kbps.
Mark's
Dance Party
The most eclectic dance station on Live365. Wide variety of tracks from
60's to present. You won't get bored. Low band width! 16kbps.
Easy
Boy Friend Home of the future ex-boyfriend of the week.
Gay
Heroes Singer Jay Spear's totally excellent
site highlighting gay historical figures.
HomoRodeo Interested in gay cowboys and gay rodeo
events? This site's for you, a matrix of information for gay rodeo fans.
JACKHAMMER
- Fort Lauderdale's Hottest Leather/Levi Bar
JoeHerzenberg.org
- a site devoted to the life of the first openly
gay elected official in the former Confederacy.
Miracomovan
En
Español. Hombres para Hombres.
Dibujos y Pinturas de hombres de todas las épocas del arte. Site
contains images of nude and homoerotic art.
Not
Kansas
A personal memoir and reflections on gay history and popular culture from
the post-World War II years to the early Nineties. An alternative to politically
correct history.
Manloveromance News is the new monthly newsletter
for thirty (plus) of the hottest authors of male/male erotica and romances
worldwide. The sensual world of M/M erotic romance and fiction by some
of THE best authors you'll find anywhere in print and on the Net.
Beau
To Beau Publishing The writings of BK Wright. "All persons
are entitled to unconditional acceptance." These fictional stories
of romance (with happy endings) help to convey the message that gay men
can find a significant other with whom to share their lives.
"I
place a high moral value on the way people behave. I find it repellent
to have a lot, and to behave with anything other than courtesy in the
old sense of the word - politeness of the heart, a gentleness of the spirit."
- Fran Lebowitz
Fulfilling
your dreams is more therapeutic than analyzing them. - Barbara Sher
Our
first teacher is our heart - Cheyenne proverb
I
am what I am - Popeye
Art
is not what you see but what you make others see.
"You're
never too old to become younger." - Mae West
"You're
never too old to have a happy childhood" - George Bernard Shaw
"I
was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. If a plant
cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man." - Henry
David Thoreau
Seen
on a bumper sticker: "I do whatever my Rice Krispies tell me to do."
"Too
much stress and strain on the brain makes you go insane."
"Understand
that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privillege. Use it.
Dwell in possibility." - Oprah Winfrey
"Gay
is the feeling you get when all of the straight people leave the room."
"There
is a major difference between a friend (in office) and a gay person in
office. It's not enough just to have friends represent us, no matter how
good those friends may be. We must give people the chance to judge us
by our own leaders, and our own legislators." - Harvey Milk
"It
has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
- President Abraham Lincoln
"Never
be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept
no one's definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein
"The
test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those
who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too
little." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt"
It's
a funny old world a man's lucky if he gets out of it alive." - W.C.
Fields
"According
to you, everything I like is either immoral, illegal or fattening." -
W.C. Fields
"If
a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."
- Harvey Milk "
" but
personally I thank God for gay men, 'cause if it was not for them, us
fat women would have nobody to dance with." - Rosanne
"The
only thing necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmond Burke
"The
statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering
from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If
they are okay, then it's you." - Rita Mae Brown
"Only
until your high enough on the mountain, will the real purpose of the valley
come into view." - Cowboy Dave
"The
early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - Steven
Wright
"The
great thing about suicide is that it's not one of those things you have
to do now or you lose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later."
- Harvey Fierstein
"Never
place a period where God has placed a comma." - Gracie Allen
"Men
never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious
conviction." - Blaise Pascal
"You
should take a husky man who will always be at your side." - Sherlock Holmes
to Sir Henry in Hound of the Baskervilles.
"Marriage
hasn't been my thing. But gay people, knock yourselves out." - Ben Affleck
"Deciding
on a husband is like picking a diamond, you don't want to choose one that's
obviously flawed." - Jerry Hall
"The
bias of the media is not liberal. It's lazy and sensationalist." - Jon
Stewart
"The
moment you see something wrong and don't say anything, is the moment you
start to die," - Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Former Surgeon General of the United
States
"Worry
is like paying interest on debts you haven't incurred yet" - anonymous
"Better
to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not" -
anonymous
"A
free society is where it is safe to be unpopular." - anonymous
"They
who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve
neither liberty or security." - from Historical Review of Pennsylvania
[c.1759] by Benjamin Franklin [1706-1790]
Recipient
of the Rainbow Award
rickchris.com was awarded the Rainbow Award in November of 2002.The Rainbow
Award is exclusively bestowed upon those who have made a contribution
to the GLBT Web community through excellence in content, design, creativity,
presentation or overall concept of their web page.
NOTICE
This site, www.rickchris.com, is the Official Web Site of Rick Chris and
is the only site I have authorized to represent my work and myself. I
have not given any other individual the right to represent me in any manner
relating to myself, my personal life, my work, the rights to my work,
or my business. Period.