Author Topic: <-- Introduce Yourself -->  (Read 858840 times)

Offline DeeDee

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #110 on: April 05, 2006, 08:18:42 pm »
Hi Everyone!
I'm Diane and a full blown brokie.  I'm totally obsessed and in love with everything Brokeback.
I'm looking forward to new friends and lots of laughs and friendly discusssions.

In America sex is an obsession.  In other parts of the world it is a fact.

Marlene Dietrich

Offline amh

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #111 on: April 05, 2006, 08:49:56 pm »
Hello! 

My name is Ann Marie, I'm 35 and live in Cleveland, Ohio. 

2006 will forever be remembered by me as "The Year I Became Obsessed With Brokeback Mountain".  I first saw it on New Year's Eve and haven't been able to think about much else since!

I'm a refugee from the IMDb board and have spent most of my time at Chez Tremblay so far, but am starting to poke around this beautiful site.  I'm also a moderator at the ABCs of BBM board, so if you haven't already come over to play, please do! 

It's been a lot of fun being here and I look forward to getting to know you all.  Thanks to Phillip and everyone else here for such a warm welcome, and see you on the boards!!! :)

« Last Edit: April 05, 2006, 08:51:28 pm by amh625 »
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Offline nicpic64

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #112 on: April 05, 2006, 10:04:11 pm »
Hello everyone.  I'm coming from the original Pierre Tremblay board back on IMDb and welcome this cozy new home.  My name is Nicole.  I am 41 and come from sunny Calgary where Brokeback Mountain was filmed.  I am a teacher and a mother of two and find the people on this forum to be tons of fun.  We'll see you around.

Offline henrypie

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #113 on: April 06, 2006, 12:40:22 am »
I'm Sarah.  Female, 29.  I like talking by the fire and walks on the beach.

I live in Baltimore, I love cats, I'm a classical musician, I make snowflakes, I read and write and knit and ... clutter up and clutter down.  I'm married to a smart, patient, affectionate, funny, sexy German who speaks crazy-talk German because he's from Stuttgart.  Most recent book I read: Slaughterhouse-Five.  Most recent film watched: Splendor in the Grass.  Movie written on my heart till I'm dead and gone: Brokeback Mountain.

I'm so happy to have found this forum.

Offline littledarlin

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #114 on: April 06, 2006, 01:03:39 am »
Hi, everyone.  I'm not good at these things, and have yet to find a way to properly articulate my feelings about BBM, but on Clarissa's suggestion have decided to give it a shot.

I'm in Illinois.  I'm 23, gay male.  I live with my boyfriend of 5+ years (well, temporarily not, that's another story) and I work in the music industry.  I love film and books, but music is my true passion.  It's been my emotional outlet since I was a kid. 

I heard about BBM over a year before it came out but saw Jake and Heath were starring, and that girl from Princess Diaries, and rolled my eyes.  But when I heard Ang Lee was involved, my ears perked.  He's my favorite director (Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!) so I immediately changed my position.  It wasn't until I started browsing the IMDB boards in mid-December and I stumbled upon a link to the New Yorker short story (this was back when the New Yorker still had it up on their official site!).  I sat at work, reading it, and by the end I was fighting back the tears.  I was hooked.

The next week, my boyfriend and a friend went to see it in Chicago.  Every showing was completely sold out, we were lucky we ordered in advance.  I have been to this theatre numerous time, but it was like herding cattle, appropriately, just lines of people throughout the entire building.  After the film, we discussed what we had saw.  My first reaction was that was a really good movie.  That night, I laid in bed, not able to sleep, just thinking about the movie, about everything.

This happened to be the week I was on Christmas vacation, and spent a lot of time alone because no one else was off.  It might've been the next day, or 2 days later, but I just started thinking about Jack and Ennis.  And I shook my head and I'm like "come on now, they're not real people!" and so on.  I was getting ready to leave, still laughing at myself for being so concerned with fictional characters.  I walk out the door, I'm running down the stairs, and I just STOP and start crying uncontrollably.  I've never experienced anything like that from a movie before, or any work of art for that matter. 

Thinking I was crazy, I went back to the IMDB boards, and quickly found I was hardly the only person who had a similar experience.  I started posting, and reading, and before I knew it, was part of this community of people who were really touched by the film.  It was great, and still is in fact.  I ended up seeing it 12 times in the theatres, and one time I was lucky enough to have seen it with fellow brokies! 

I guess why it connects to me so much is because I see so much of Jack AND Ennis in myself.  Jack is me when I was younger, when I had dreams and ideas and was so young and naive and I wanted nothing more than to love freely and enjoy life, but all I got was loneliness, harassment, and rejection at school, at home, everywhere, and it turned me into an Ennis.  Both are still a part of me, but I grew up a bit, hardened, and became an odd mixture.  I'm happy with who I am now, and where I've gone, and with the lovely people in my life.  But I still yearn to make things better, not just for myself, but for everyone else who feels like that growing up, isolated, alone, because they aren't and need to know that.  You end up regretting so much when you allow others to shape you and hold you back.  I used to live in fear, and I believe that the message of BBM is the only thing you have to fear is fear itself.  Why deprive yourself love and happiness, only to end lonely, depressed, and wishing you had done things differently?

BBM has changed my life.  There are other factors, but it has given me the confidence to take more risks, to appreciate what I have more, and to be more honest with myself and those around me.  All this, and even from just a technical standpoint, it's just a brilliant, classic film with the power to bring people together, and to change minds. 

Sorry for the lengthy post, it's really not my style, it just kinda... happened.  I have to get to bed now.

But thanks to Phil and the fellow board members for taking us in!  I'm so happy to be here, and you seem like such a lovely bunch of people, I can't wait to get to know more of you!
We can hug on November, caress and nice oak.

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #115 on: April 06, 2006, 03:01:18 am »
Beautifully put Andrew (littledarlin) hun, it's so great to get to know more about you. And it's great getting to know everyone here! It really is so nice knowing that I'm not alone in my passion & obsession with this beautiful film.

I've been here at BetterMost for about a week, so I thought I'd come and finally introduce myself. For my friends here who know me already, this will be boring since they know most of this already (and I copied & pasted some stuff from the "Distinguishing Mandy & Mandy thread").

I'm a 22 year old straight (slightly bent) female, living in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (the oldest city in North America  ). I was born in Labrador so technically I'm not a Newfie.  :) I've been with my BF for about 3.5 years. I'm a 4th year UNI student, English degree, graduating next month. Then I'm doing a second degree (in French), and then considering Law School, who knows!? I like school. I'm a fairly easy-going person. It takes a lot to shock me, and I'm very accepting & open-minded. I adore movies of all genres really. I just love relaxing with a good movie. I worked at a video store for several years back in my home town and boy, that was awesome! Music is another passion of mine. I play saxophone (baritone) & guitar. I love all kinds of music (metal, rock, alternative, just about everything really). I love learning new languages. I speak French & Spanish (and a little Portuguese, but not very much!!). I LOVE reading, writing (poetry & short stories mostly, though I plan to write a novel & screenplay someday), painting, anything artistic really; I just love expressing myself in different ways. I grew up as the youngest & only girl (3 older brothers) so I learned early on how to be tough & independent. I love playing games (video games, board games, card games..etc). Most of all, I love having good, meaningful conversations with interesting folks (like all of you!)

When it comes to my passion for Brokeback Mountain, well I've been a huge Jake fan for a while and I've always been fairly fond of Heath, and when I first heard of the movie sometime mid-last year, I immediately read the short story and fell in love! And then I thought "WOW, I can't WAIT to see Jake & Heath as Jack & Ennis". I secretely obsessed about BBM for months before I was able to see it, which wasn't until mid January here in St. John's (and I refused to download it, I wanted to lose my BBM virginity in theatre, I wanted to experience it on the big screen, in all its beauty). I lurked around the IMdB Brokeback forum for the longest time, reading about other people's obsessions and yearning more and more for BBM. I've seen it several times now, and it's hard to explain exactly what it is about BBM that captivates me so much. My friends say: "Why do you like it so much? How do you even identify with two gay men? And Cowboys afterall!" Why should I need to justify myself for something I hold so dear to me; I'm not asking them to understand, just to accept it. But I love the film for their love, their passion, and ultimately their tragedy, which made me reflect on my life & taught me to appreciate love in all its forms. Finally, I am sooo glad I joined IMdB and then eventually found my way into all of your lives here at BetterMost  ;D 
« Last Edit: April 06, 2006, 03:05:00 am by dmmb_Mandy »

Offline JCinNYC2006

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #116 on: April 06, 2006, 03:07:24 am »
Newfoundland!  I was just reading about Annie Proulx's book 'The Shipping News' and how it's set there.  Some of the IMDb boards didn't like it because 'Newfies' found it didn't portray them in a very modern or realistic way.  Wow that's so interesting!

Juan
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dmmb_Mandy

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #117 on: April 06, 2006, 04:26:16 am »
Yeah I read the book AND saw the movie. I enjoyed both, but I agree that it doesn't exactly portray Newfoundlanders correctly. A lot of Newfies think that she made us out to be brutish (that whole scene where they destroy the guy's trailor or something? I can't remember what happens exactly, it's been a while since I've seen it), although I don't really agree with that, I don't think she made Newfies out to be that bad. BUT, let me just say, I have never ever heard of anyone in Newfoundland eating a Squid Burger, c'mon!! LOL!
   But, overall I enjoyed the story & the movie, they were entertaining & interesting, even if not exactly true to life.

Oh, BTW, some of the Newfie accents in the movie were just terrible!!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #118 on: April 06, 2006, 09:44:41 am »
Greetings, all!

I'll try to keep this short and factual. I'm not good at or comfortable with talking about myself, but since Clarissa sent a very nice postcard to us folks at Chez Tremblay to come over and introduce ourselves, here I am. ...

My name is Jeff. I'm a single gay male living in Philadelphia. My birth date is May 6, 1958 (so if you want to know how old I am, you do the math <G>). I was born in Central Pennsylvania and have lived in Philadelphia since 1986, when I moved here for a job opportunity. I live in the heart of the Center City gayborhood and own my own condominium home. Virtually all of my professional life has involved some aspect of research, writing, editing, or proofreading. My educational background is in history, and I have co-authored two reference volumes on colonial Pennsylvania.

I've had several coming outs in my life, and who knows how many more I may experience? I didn't come to understand, or face up to, the fact that I'm gay until the rather advanced age of 26. I had another coming out two years later when I moved to Philadelphia. A year after that I came out to the leather/levi/fetish community, where I have made a home ever since. In 1992 I became a member of our local leather fraternal organization, and have since held the offices of secretary and treasurer, and served as presidential officer for one 2-year term, 2000-2002. In 2005 I was honored with life membership status for my service to the organization.

I've been subscribing to The New Yorker for, oh, probably more than a quarter of a century, and I remember reading "Brokeback Mountain" in 1997. I wasn't aware that the story was being filmed until I stumbled on an ad for the movie in the Friday edition of the Philadephia Inquirer a week before it opened here. I thought, "I need to see this right away, as soon as it opens, it won't last long." HA! The film has been like another coming out experience, life changing for me as for so many others. I see aspects of myself--and not necessarily good aspects--in Ennis as the character is depicted on the screen, and the movie has made me realize that I have some work to do.

I have had one relationship, unfortunately very short, as my "little bear cub" passed away less than a year after we met. This loss is one unfortunate reason why I identify with Ennis.

I was raised Lutheran and currently am a member of the Episcopal parish around the corner from my home. Other interests, besides everything BBM, include collecting model trains (HO scale) and historical reenacting (the Middle Ages and Renaissance).

Well, I guess this turned out to be longer than I anticipated. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Introduce Yourself
« Reply #119 on: April 06, 2006, 10:52:07 am »
Another refugee from Chez Tremblay, checking in.

I'm Leslie, a happily married mother of two, living in the greater Portland, ME area. We have a retired racing greyhoud, too, as part of our household and are thinking about getting another.

I'm a nurse, although I don't wear white stockings and uniform.  :) My career has been mostly in research and academia. At present, I own my own business and serve as the editor-in-chief of two professional nursing journals. I also do consulting for research and statistics, writing and publishing. I keep current on clinical stuff through reading and volunteering at the Portland Community Free Clinic, which provides free care to those without insurance who cannot afford healthcare.

How did I learn about BBM? Actually, we were at my sister's house in Northampton, MA for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving evening, my sister, mom and I went to the little art theater in town to see "Shopgirl." They had a list where people could write their suggestions of movies they want to the theater to show...and the list had page after page saying "Brokeback Mountain." Curious, and not familiar with this title, I went home and started surfing the Internet for info. At that point the New Yorker archive still had the short story online--I read it and was hooked.

I saw BBM for the first time in Boston on Dec 27th, and like everyone else here, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It opened in Portland on Jan 6th. I saw it 6 times in the theater plus I have an early release copy of the DVD which I have watched...I don't know...on that score, I have lost count.

The strangest thing that has come out of my obsession is that I have started writing fiction. The first thing I wrote was "Brokeback Fever: A New Clinical Entity." (That is posted over in the fanfic forum if anyone wants to read it.) Then I started reading fanfic and writing my own! I'm loving doing it, I just wish it didn't take so much time as I am seriously behind on what I should be doing in my real job. (If anyone is interested in the fanfic, links to that are also in the fanfic forum. The story is called "A Love Born From Steel.")

My children and husband know about my obsession--I think they think I'm a little bit nuts, but all in all, they are supportive.

The best part is that I have made some terrific new friends through these boards. I think we have a wonderful community and I am so happy to be part of it.

Love to all,
Leslie

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