The Heart and Soul of Modern Animation

The cartoons of the past that people most readily identify with are those created by Walt Disney. The legacy he bequeathed to animation and the American psyche has left an indelible imprint upon Western Civilization through the simple retelling of fairy tales. The Disney Empire began with a simple cartoon titled “Steamboat Willie” which put Mickey and Minnie before an audience eager for distraction.

This comical, but hugely influential cartoon, would become the basis for modern animation as we know it. Yet for all the story telling devices available through incorporating techniques such as exaggeration, anticipation, secondary motion, and appeal the writer finds the Disney style to give little to the art of storytelling except bland anthropomorphized idealism and a myopic view of good vs evil, gender roles, race, class, and acceptable social mores.

"Still Breathing, Still Pouring"

"Still Breathing, Still Pouring" was the choice Sal Defalco made for the name of his autobiography. It hurts to think that title couldn't be used now but not as much as thinking of a world where the Legendary Savatore DeFalco never had his story told completely.

Sal had such a varied, wonderful and amazing life. I know because he asked me for help working on his autobiography. At first I merely tried to edit his manuscript, a tome of over 100 pages of stories that he had put together just in case he ever wanted to write a book.

To be honest, I didn't believe many of his stories at first. I thought they held some semblance of truth but I honestly felt he talked a far bigger game than he had ever played. I went home and Googled him; I didn't have to search past the first page. The pictures, stories, biographies, magazines, and court details were all over the place. The next day, I asked Sal if he needed help getting the story of his life organized. I drafted a roughly 10,000 word outline that consisted of the different eras of his life, the major events he wanted told, and the order in which he wanted them told. I did test samples of writing styles until I found something he felt represented him. In the end, I spent almost a year researching the 1970s, Disco, and Studio 54 that I sometimes feel that I lived through them. (In fact, I may remember it better than some of you do.)

"The Party Never Stops"

(I wrote this in 2010 as part of a reflective journal I needed for a school project. I needed to discuss current events, and that was the week that the CBS special aired with Sal and Claude. It sums up everything Sal meant to me)

I was really fortunate to work with a guy named Salvatore Defalco. He turned 54 this year, but he still bartended. My nickname for him was old man! Oh, the stories. He knew every famous person there was to know, blah, blah, blah. It wasn’t until he asked me for some help finding pictures from Studio 54 that an internet search showed so many stories I didn’t know. He was a fashion model, he was on magazine spreads, and he was in the Advocate, a gay periodical, twice. He won a first of its kind lawsuit in Atlanta against a nightclub that fired him for being HIV-positive.

The stories quickly changed from gossip to history. He knew people who rioted during Stonewall. He showed me movies I had never seen. Funny Girl! I grew up being open about my sexuality, but I wasn’t gay until I saw Funny Girl! He taught me about *my* culture, *my* history. And he helped me and many others when we found out our own HIV status, over the years.

R. I. P. Sal DeFalco

The guy in the picture is Sal DeFalco. He's someone I admire, someone I've gotten into trouble with and someone who always challenged me to be better than I was.

He has been fighting brain and lung cancer. He has taken a turn for the worse and is back in the ICU. The fabulous Jaclyn St. James is helping raise money for his care and  medical needs. By clicking the picture above, you will be taken to a GoFundMe website where you can offer a donation of any amount you can afford.

Sal is a wonderful friend. He taught me what being gay actually meant. He showed me how important it was to embrace, accept and love yourself.

Here is to you Sal and a speedy recovery old man! :D


Sal DeFalco passed away today. Though he is no longer with us, just like Studio 54, the party that Sal lived every day will never die.

Keith Ablow, Fox News Doctor, Calls For 'American Jihad'

This kind of talk isn't funny. I see jokes being made and references to how this is like a Saturday Night Live skit. This is real, it is dangerous, and it is something that should be making people far more angry than they are now. Modern conservatism is becoming a full-fledged neo-facist platform,. 

Trust me. I'm an.. Artist??!?

No. Really. Apparently, in just a few months, I went from techno-geek to (starving) artist.

This isn't the path I expected myself to go down. I still don't expect to be an "artist" when I finish my education at the Art Institute. However, with just a few months of experience, I am certain that I will always -be- an artist. In just a few months I have learned how to take tools from around me and create something which was merely a vision in my head. I've never been able to do that before, but art has helped make that possible for me.

I've found a passion for working in ink. I'm not very good at free hand so I rely heavily on stencils and rulers. That doesn't make me a bad artist it just means I work differently than some people.

One of the most exciting things I have done in several years is so sign up for Fine Art America account. My artist account allows me not only to post my artistic work but to sell it as well. Far from being an "artist", I feel like a business man, an entrepreneur who is creating his own future and building his own wealth. I haven't sold anything (yet) but I only posted last evening. I've already had 30 page views which makes me very excited.

"Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23!"

O M G!

Alright, I have to admit my usual brand of comedy is Big Bang Theory with the occasional Doctor Who thrown in to mix things up. But I finally found a show that gives me genuine belly laughs that aren't based off of speaking Klingon or knowing comic book trivia.

This clip speaks for itself:

This show is rude, irreverent, mocking, sassy, and sacrilegious. But what happens when I finish Season 1 tomorrow? TELL ME, WHAT WILL I DO INTeRWEBS??!?!?!?!?!

How Miley Cyrus is using a "Wrecking Ball" to Redefine the American Dream

I've led most of my life under the impression that Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus had as much value to music as Barney's "I Love You, You Love Me". I look for depth in music, as I do in life, culture, and society.

This is why I am so surprised by the new wave of pop music coming out over the last few months. There are some far left home runs from people like Naughty Boy and Macklemore that deserve standing ovations. I was fortunate to grow up during a time of Kurt Cobain and Tori Amos. What, then, can Miley Cyrus offer music when compared to the likes of Gotye, Imogen Heap, or Janelle Monae?

In all honesty, very little we haven't seen before. Beautiful body, great (auto-tuned) voice, and great marketing. Looking at her portfolio, she shouldn't stand out anymore than Britney Spears or Milli Vanilli.

What makes this song great?

Bianca Jagger Had Very Bad Breath

(This is an excerpt from a working biography titled "Still Breathing, Still Pouring" which I am working on with legendary bartender, Studio 54 groupie, and label whore Sal Defalco. This is all told from his real life perspective and please note it is a ROUGH DRAFT.)

Studio 54 was already famous throughout New York and the Tri-state area after their April 26, 1977 opening. It only took the disco a week to become world famous.

Even though I wasn't working there yet, every drip of gossip that came out of that place passed through my ears. My "date" for the Grand Opening, a very recognizable face from a very "fruity" and wealthy family in the New York area, rang me up to tell me about the next fiasco to come out of there.

May 2nd was Bianca Jagger's birthday. She was the epitome of a New York socialite, married to a rock star, fundraiser, charity organizer, jet-setter, party-goer. You get the picture. There was only one place spectacular enough for her to have her party at and only one person she would let design it. Studio 54 and Halston, of course.

Stevie didn't want to have the party on a Monday night. "Who the hell is gonna come out on a Monday night?" But then again, Steve Rubell did even more outlandish things and they still managed to turn to gold. This, my friends, is how we ended up with Bianca Jagger being lead through the doorways of Studio 54 on a white horse.

Entry Level - 2 yrs Exp. Required (F#$% My Life!)

Lost my job last week. Sucks, I know. I had just caught up when this happened so it feels like I am right back where I started. Losing your job can make you feel like you are losing your independence. It can make you feel worthless and devalue you as a person.

I am glad I started school two years ago. School is one of the things that has kept me moving forward over the last few years. Thank God for the stimulus and the fact that I was able to get Pell Grants to help me through Broward College debt-free.

Once I finish this semester, I will have my AA. An AA is about as useless as a high school diploma, so I am still focused on completing my Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science (hopefully at Nova Southeastern University).

Even if I finish school though, what chance is there that I will ever find a job in my field? My sister has everything a corporation could want. She is detail-oriented, project-driven, geared for success -and- flexible. To top it off, she doesn't even drink AND has good credit!

She has her AA in Accounting. She has eight years of experience; it just happens not to be in Accounting. So, she invests all of this time and energy into learning how to become an accountant, but to get a job she has to have experience being an accountant.

How in the hell does one break into the industry if they have to have experience before they can? This gives me absolutely no confidence that I will ever be able to find the right job and makes me fearful that after I get my Bachelor's, I might end up still being a bartender.