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America loves immigrants

A fun-filled look at Italian immigration at the turn of last century. All of the quotes from the "experts" are real. What this video proves is that we really haven't come very far since those unenlightened times, judging by the law recently passed by Arizona and others being considered by Congress. America, a land of immigrants, still hates immigrants. Originally, this video was part of Italian.Queer.Dangerous, my autobiographical one-man show that played to rave reviews about six years ago. I wrote the script for the video, but Dennis Brumm put together the clips and animation and Joel Frangquist, our lighting guy, did the narration.


Silent Night/Homeless Night
You may quickly notice this version of "Silent Night," which was performed by the Peaceniks (see my "music" page) at a concert at Martin de Porres, a soup kitchen here in San Francisco, has new lyrics (which I wrote) that makes this classic holiday offering much more relevant to the ways things are today. A hymn for the 21st Century. After the incredible reception the song received at that performance and others, I decided to do a video. It was the first one I put together. I used imovie because it's easy to work with. Someday, I want to re-make it with fancy cameras. Thanks to my friend and fellow activist Renee Saucedo, who plays the homeless woman.


Pippin: the whacking cat
Pippin, also known as Peppina, was a cat I rescued in 1989 from the cold streets of Philly. A wild little kitten, she never quite took to domestication, in fact, she fought it every step of the way. Her reputation spread far and wide, especially among friends who nicknamed her "the cat from hell." But the little demon had another side. When no one else was around, she was extremely affectionate to me. She even cuddled up beside me at night and purred. Despite her anti-social behavior, I loved that little monster. She died on February 4, 2004. She is missed. This is her only video--so far.


medicine

My big screen debut!
Believe it or not, I'm in a movie on the silver screen! It's called Medicine for Melancholy and it's about a one-night stand that turns into a metaphor for the displacement of African Americans in San Francisco. I play an anti-displacement activist. What a difficult role to prep for! I had to actually play myself. It's a great flick. Click on the pic for more info, and do yourself a favor and rent it. And don't laugh when my mug appears on the screen.
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