Sometimes my day job as a filmmaker lets me do really cool things. This last weekend I edited an “It Gets Better” video for Google employees with director Mario Galarreta. Using first-person video testimonials from LGBTQ people, the It Gets Better Project was founded by writer Dan Savage in September 2010 as a unique way for supporters everywhere to tell lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth who are disheartened, have been bullied or are at risk for suicide one simple truth — that it gets better.

It really does. When I was growing up, I was sure if my parents found out, that I’d be kicked out of the house, that they wouldn’t pay for college and that I’d be alone and miserable. And yet, when I did get to college and met my wonderful, supportive lifetime friends — it all changed for me. And while coming out to my parents wasn’t easy, they’re very supportive today. It’s so important for all gay and transgendered kids — 13, 14, 15, whatever — to know that right now — your teens, when you have the least amount of power, freedom and support — really is the hardest part and that if you can just stick it out for just a few more years, hell even a few more months, that things can and will get better. And that, in fact, they can be awesome.

I’m proud of the work I did on this video — and there was even more great stuff that had to be left out due to time and other concerns. Things that I think would have been great for kids to hear — especially stuff relating to family. One employee talked about how, when he came out, his mother told him she wished he had told her he “had died” instead — and yet now, she’s his biggest supporter. Another employee talked about how everyone said “whatever you do, don’t tell Grandma, she can’t handle it” — and yet Grandma found out anyway by seeing that employee embracing their lover in their Facebook profile and immediately commented “You look beautiful together.”

Even if it seems like the worst has happened or will happen — even if it seems like your parents will never love you again — things can and do get better. Love is stronger than hate. Gay people have nothing to fear from the truth. Thus the more your loved ones find out about you and other gay people, the more likely they are to come around. It just takes time.

But that means you have to be willing to stick around to find out. I know it’s hard. I came close to killing myself several times as a teen. There were many days when I just wanted the pain, the fear, the sadness, just to stop — forever. All I can say now is — now that my life is filled with the love of my friends, my family and the wonderful guys I’ve had in my life — I’m very glad I didn’t. It would have been a terrible mistake. All the good times I’ve had since then outweigh those hard times by a factor of several thousand.

It really does get better.

(If you are a young person having a hard time, there are lots of good resources out there that can help make things better right now. There are gay youth meetings in most every state, including my own beloved Outright Vermont which totally helped me out when a teen. Another is The Trevor Project, a national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth. They have online, anonymous chat as well as a 24-hour toll free number you can call: 866-488-7386. There is no reason you have to go through this alone — and, if you are able to check out your local gay youth group, lots of cool and handsome kids your own age to meet!)

Folks are always asking me for more yaoi videos and these classic edited cutdowns (with amusing commentary by the clip’s editor) certainly deliver.

(Found the Karin video on sakurapassion’s The Yaoi Review while trying to use Google to find information on the Handley case which I knew was on my pal Jen’s site, also called The Yaoi Review. Oh, that wacky Google…)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

[AEP] Yaoi Moments in Anime Karin

Humor, gay tea time and vampire action — lots to like

[AEP] Yaoi Moments in Anime: Evangelion

Sadly dubbed and the commentary is full of typos, but Evangelion is a classic! (Spoilers, depressing drama & way over the top pseudo-philosophy)

Well, that was a bummer. How about some Yaoi Kisses (and, um, grungey Rock) to refresh the palate!

Best damn Yaoi Kisses!

That’s better. Now on to one of my favorite manga series ever–Genshiken! And my personal dream-boat, Sasahara! (Although he’s much cuter in the manga, IMHO…)

And finally, something completely different. The guys from Papa to Kiss in The Dark cut to that I Like To Move It song. So very wrong on so many levels. Yet strangely appropriate that my Handley search led me to it.

yaoi move

Hope these vids added a little something to your Valentine’s Day!

A lot of folks I showed this video to — both straight and gay — found it to be perfect to show to their friends who don’t quite “get it”. It certainly helps bring home the subtler forms of prejudice and ignorance that are hard for all of us to shake. Since cool people come to this blog, I decided it was worth sharing here. And let’s face it – he’s a cutie.

Check it out and pass it on.

Are You Straight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ1I_-MY_NY

(Found on Colin Thornby’s blog Conservatio Morum: Conversion of Life)

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In addition to getting to see what Google searches bring folks to my site (which prompted my How To Find Bara In English post), I also get to see the things my readers search for using my internal search box (located up on the top left of each page for your searching convenience!) It’s a good way for me to know what my readers are interested in that I might not have covered yet.

You wanna know what one of the most common search terms is?

“Naruto yaoi”

So, in honor of those readers who came to my site looking for some hot Naruto-Sasuke action, I offer you this little fan-created mash-up. It’s nothing but a big tease, the yaoi is mostly subtext, but it’s funny and the voice talent cracked me up.

Enjoy…

Naruto – Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den *English Subbed*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXVcWu5sM28

(From lenazelaya, a fellow yaoi fan from El Salvador. Here is lenazelaya’s description of this vid: “This is the “Naruto Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den” manga made by the animation group of “Naruto” in an AU, with the same characters of Naruto but in another way, they are in an institute and it looks like its going to be a second part of this… hopefully “)

EDIT 4/17/09: For those who were looking for the hardcore stuff, here’s a VERY NSFW (but still not shota) collection of Naruto fan art.

EDIT 8/15/09: Seems the video in this post is no longer working due to copyright concerns. I’ve leave the link here a bit longer, just in case it comes back to life. At least Soup Goblin’s X-Rated pics (in the last EDIT) are still working!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0292ZQgmxqI

Images of cute boys kissing over Katy Perry’s song (seriously messed about with by YouTube user nengstle). I do believe this is Katy Perry’s actual voice doing the singing, just EQed to sound like the guy from Erasure. The adding of the words “boy” and “girl” in the appropriate spots is a little kudgey, but all of the sweet kissing made me smile.

From the ordinarily quite sleepy Boys Kissing Livejournal community.

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• Curious what our cute boys look like kissing? Take a look at our Yaoi 911â„¢ Art!
• Think all this online video stuff rots the brain? Then click on over to our Yaoi Book Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

EDIT 5/5/11: Alas, the user who posted this video has taken down their account and I cannot find it. If you ever find the link to it on YouTube, let me know and I’ll re-add it here.

All right — it’s just two cute guys messing around in a bed in a short by an independent film director whose work I’ve enjoyed, but I thought I’d share. (Very, very Not Safe For Work, but you knew that, right?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZdwSnW26E

(Right now, my YouTube plugin does not appear to support Firefox 3 browsers with the AdBlock plugin, so if you are using that browser with that plugin and want to see the video, you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZdwSnW26E)

“Les Puceaux” (The Virgins) directed by Francois Ozon, starring Jeremy Elkaim and Sebastien Charles. Found on Sambag’s Blog.

Enjoy watching videos like these? Don’t miss out! Subscribe and get them emailed right to you — for free!

Psst! Want a free yaoi full-color yaoi comic? Just sign up over at our Free Comic page and we’ll send you the download link!

Learn More!

• Curious what our cute boys look like kissing? Take a look at our Yaoi 911â„¢ Art!
• Think all this online video stuff rots the brain? Then click on over to our Yaoi Book Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!