Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter, rating: 8/10

What's interesting is that the police never shot anyone. At one point, the police barricaded themselves inside the mob run Stonewall Inn nightclub and improvised firebombs were being thrown inside by the incensed crowd outside that 'finally had enough'.

Is It Just Me? (2010) rating: 8/10

Gosh, I really liked this same-sex romance film. Something about its not giving up on love theme which seems to be a recent meme. Or is it that I've just somehow been primed to think about this topic. The story is only very slightly Roxanne-like (Cyrano de Bergerac), except the protagonist isn't ugly. He just doesn't go to the gym so much.

Actually the guys are all good looking. Strange, the lead totally reminds me of the guy from the Logo TV show Mores for Gays. Like they could be twins or brothers. (They have different last names, I checked.)

In case it matters, there are no explicit sex scenes. Okay, maybe half of one.

Lord of the White Hell (Part One) by Ginn Hale, rating: 8/10

A review of fiction? I was lured into reading this fantasy tale of swords (heh), poison, curses and special powers by the underlying gay romance. And well, it works! I liked it.

The Big Gay Musical (2009) rating: 9/10

I found this surprisingly good. The story is inter-weaved with the musical itself. Singing performances are excellent. I'm surprised I'd never heard about this movie, but it is rated fairly highly on Netflix.

As with a lot of recent gay-interest films, it is fairly explicit.

Willful Blindness by Margaret Heffernan, rating: 9/10

The topic is not seeing what you don't want to see. It has something to do with confirmation bias, but as Heffernan describes, there's a lot more to it than that. I found this book fascinating.

The Social Network (2010) rating 7/10

What an interesting story! It's fairly well told also. Why it didn't win the Oscar? Does it boil down to the disappointingly flawed protagonist? This is not a feel good movie. Well maybe also the acting wasn't quite to the level of TKS.

A Jihad for Love (2007) rating 8/10

Islam is obviously the most chauvinistic and macho religion of all the major religions. As such perhaps it makes sense as the most homophobic. But what happens when homosexuals are 'unlucky' enough to be born in Islamic countries? This film explains through interviews -- unfortunately many of them with fuzzed out faces -- to protect the interviewees. The movie was executive produced by Michael Huffington, the former US Representative.

Sasha (2010) rating 7/10

A teenage boy, Sasha, whose Yugoslavian family has immigrated to Cologne secretly falls for his male piano teacher. Meanwhile he hides in plain sight from his macho and homophobic father with his Chinese girlfriend Jiao, a fellow student pianist. His piano teacher abruptly notifies Sasha he's leaving town, and everything falls apart.