The Cockettes

Customer Review: Forgotten Glam
"The Cockettes" Forgotten Glam Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride In the documentary "The Cockettes" we are taken back to San Francisco in the 1970's to learn about a theatre group who defied all of the odds and the conventions of society. They all lived together in a commune and they were gay, straight, bi, men, women, whites, blacks etc and they were wonderful. They put on shows that criticized everything and they were mean, sexual, vicious, hilarious and very, very smart. The documentary looks at them--those entertainers that have been unjustly forgotten. The movie will raise your spirits and how you a world most of us did not have the chance to know. Here is acid-trip theatre performed by an outlandish cast of characters who had a lot to do with opening the doors for freedom of expression. Without these characters around today, we are experiencing a great sense of loss--even if we weren't around to appreciate The Cockettes. The film is an inspiration and even if you have no interest in hippies or drag queens, this is a film you will enjoy. The members of The Cockettes wanted to be stars and therefore they got dressed up in ridiculous outfits, dropped acid regularly and put on "shows" about whatever was of interest to them. They were crazies, had unbridled idealism and were articulate. Habiscus was their leader. His first brush with fame when he stuck a flower in the barrel of the rifle of a member of the National Guard. He was an enigma in every sense of the word (he has been dead some twenty odd years now). He had a vision but that kind of vision could not be brought to the stage. Try to imagine that you were told about a wonderful party--that is how you will feel when you se this film. You will just wish you had actually been able to go. The drag and hippie shows of The Cockettes were sensational and are an interesting look at life at that time. The vintage footage of the actual events is amazing. The Cockettes were the single group to bring n the ideas of gender bending and transgressive art. In fact what they really did was little more than have a good time and I had a good time watching them enjoy themselves. Whether The Cockettes played a part in the gay sexual revolution has not been decided yet. There was then and still is nothing to compare to them. They had great times and it is fun to see them enjoying themselves. This s definitely a movie to see, even if you have no idea of who The Cockettes are. What a wonderful stroll down nostalgia lane.
Customer Review: Inspirational!
I have played this movie at least three times a week since purchasing it. I never tire of it. It gives me inspiration to go out and face an excruciatingly dull and dreary world--even without dropping acid!

Just what goes into a good camping guide, anyway? The first thing that crosses many peoples' minds are locations to camp at in an area they're interested in. While that's a good start, I think there should be more to a camping guide than just campsite locations and how to get to them.

Survival Shelters

A good camping guide will provide you with at least a basic overview of different survival shelters that you can build out of materials found in nature. If you get lost on a hike and need a place to sleep for the night while waiting for rescuers to find you, you're going to need to find yourself a shelter somehow. More often than not natural shelter isn't going to be easily found, so setting up a lean-to out of branches or a poncho and some rope can work just as well.

First Aid

While you should certainly stay up to date on the latest in First Aid, a good camping guide should tell you at least the basics involved in diagnosing and temporarily treating injuries and minor wounds. This information should by no means take the place of professional medical assistance! But if you are out in the wild with no access to professional medical attention, you have to be able to take care of injuries long enough to seek medical aid, and a good camping guide can help you.

Supplies

A camping guide can help make sure you are prepared for your trip by offering lists of things you can bring with you to make your trip more comfortable and/or safer. From lists of food supplies, to camping gear and right down to what you should usually find in your first aid kit, a decent guide can help make sure you don't forget anything important.

Basic Survival

Planning on roughing it for a few days? With a camping guide you can have access to how to catch wild game, in areas where it's allowable, how to cut it so the meat stays fresh and safe, and how to cook it for a healthy meal. A good camping guide can also show you what animals various tracks belong to, how to survive in harsh weather conditions, what to look for in the ideal camping spot, and how to start a campfire with no modern luxuries.

In addition to providing you with information on game hunting and cooking, your camping guide should also make available at least a little information on the local flora so you know what plants are safe to eat in areas where it's allowed to forage off the land, and what plants are poisonous and should be avoided. Most camping guides will even provide information on how to purify small amounts of local water resources, making it safe to drink so you can stay hydrated.

So, while it's a great thing to have a guide that tells you how to get to a certain camp site, how much it will be and what the park hours are, I think the best camping guides are the ones that give you the information you need to survive outside of civilization for more than just a few days. As always, better safe than sorry, right?

You can find great camping tips and articles at http://camping.every1loves2travel.com as well as helpful camping resources about summer camps, camping recipes, and much more.