BetterMost: Beyond Brokeback Mountain

With the generous support of residents of BetterMost, Peachy has helped us get a message of condolence into a major newspaper read in western Australia.

To Australians who have made their way here as a result of that message, we welcome you to our community!

One of our residents (Mouk) laid the flowers shown in the picture above at the site of a filming location for the film Brokeback Mountain, perhaps Heath Ledger’s finest performance.

Our community is grieving the passing of Heath Ledger and we invite you to visit our forum, which is the heart of our community and where you can find a place where we DO understand what you are going through.

You’re a part of our family. Welcome home.

Just over a year ago, refugees from IMDb arrived on BetterMost to escape persecution from trolls and incompetent admins who deleted scores of treasured messages. We welcome you to our community where YOU are number one! There are no trolls here and your messages will be safe!

Most of the fun takes place in our forums, so please find the link to your left and join the community!

First folks, my apologies for the lack of updates on this home page. We are presently working on transitioning away from the software that controls our front page. We’re developing a new content management system which will provide a vast improvement in the content we can provide here. For now, please jump straight to the forums from the link on the left. Thanks for your patience!

for the weeks of December 14 – December 28, 2006

Jack_ME in Maine is celebrating a birthday on Friday the 15th. [b]Kelda_shelton, our Scottish Brokie, will be 25 on the 17th. RebelWithSadness is 17 on Monday the 18th, and Nicole (Nicole Ross) up in Toronto shares a birthday with none other than Jake Gyllenhaal on the 19th!

Upcoming birthdays include katieljb in Canada and our lovely propsmistress and podcaster Anke (pipedream) in Bavaria on the 27th, Dre in NYC on the 28th, and wayne1932 on the 29th! Have a very happy birthday, and don’t forget to check in here, babies, to receive your well wishes and piece of cherry cake!

(And don’t put your holiday noisemakers away too soon, because the birthday of a very special Brokie or two will be happening on New Year’s Day!)

If you’re a new member of BetterMost, welcome to Social Events, where we aim to connect lovers of Brokeback Mountain either virtually through chats, one-on-one, or in groups large and small. Join in and see how connecting with other Brokies can add so much more dimension to your favorite topic of discussion! Please feel free to contact either one of us or any other moderator with any questions or doubts you might have. We’re here to help!

We have just added a chat to celebrate Jake’s upcoming birthday on December 19! This is tentatively scheduled for 10 p.m. US Eastern time. Also, our standing, monthly Coming Thru on the 24th chat is on December 24. Yes, that’s Christmas Eve, folks. Come and share some holiday cheer. The more faiths present, the merrier! Our next full moon chat is scheduled for January 3. Please stop by if you can!

Progress has been made in the organizing process for the following Brokie get-togethers. Please stay tuned to the Social Events Roundup for weekly updates on these plans.

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West Virginia Ski Trip
Skiers is will be meeting in West Virginia from January 12 and January 15. “Don Wroe’s cabin” has been reserved for this excursion. There will be plenty of skiing, snow-tubing (weather permitting), hiking, cozy Brokie hang-out time around the campfire, and a group viewing of Brokeback Mountain. The cabin comes complete with rocking chairs and a hot tub! Transportation from the Charleston, WV or Chattanooga, TN airports can be arranged. Time is running out, so if you’re interested in joining this group, please contact Lynne or visit here.

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Late May in the Rocky Mountains
The Brokeback BBQ 2007 is scheduled for the end of May (Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.) in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with an optional trip to Brokenback Mountain in NE Wyoming! We have reserved an entire lodge at the beautiful YMCA Estes Park Center, at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Please visit the Social Forum thread for exciting information and to give your ideas about this trip.

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Alberta
The list of those interested in going to Alberta in July 2007 has grown to nearly 40 people! Please make your opinions known about the proposed dates by the end of December, because commitments and reservations will need to be started in early 2007. Contact organizers RouxB, ptannen and Meryl if you have questions or concerns. Check out the dedicated Alberta thread in the Social Forum.

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We are also covering smaller get-togethers of Brokies regionally with pictures and reports. Check out the forum for info on, among others, New Year’s Eve celebrations and a trip to the National Western Stock Show in Denver in January. Have a wonderful Holiday Season! Your FRiends Front-Ranger and atz75.

Remember, you need to register at BetterMost before you can visit the Social Forum!

for the week of December 6 – December 13, 2006

Greetings BetterMostians! Tell you what Friends, we’re pleased to report on another busy week in our little town. We hope you’re all having a wonderful Holiday Season and are enjoying the new decorations around the ranch here. Please stop by the new-ish Holiday forum to join in some seasonal fun.

Let’s start our newsletter by raising a whiskey toast to Marge_Innavera (Dec. 7) and likewise to AmerBrasileiro (Dec. 11). Happy Birthday to you both!

We’d also like to congratulate new moderator sfericsf in the Brokeback Mountain Radio forum.

Same as last week, we’re continuing to welcome a host of new members. We hope our new residents are finding their way around our BetterMost neighborhoods and are beginning to feel at home here. And, hopefully we’re all continuing to enjoy all those screenings of Brokeback Mountain on HBO!

Looking back a bit, we had a fantastic Full Moon Chat on December 4-5! Thanks to all participants. At various times we found ourselves talking about serious life-topics, all related to Brokeback of course. Love in all its forms (from platonic to passionate). Commitment. Emotional intimacy. The importance of taking risks. We also discussed some major and endlessly fascinating metaphors and symbols that seem to recur throughout our favorite film/story.

We have two more scheduled chats coming up in December. One is on Saturday, December 9 to celebrate the first anniversary of the release of the film Brokeback Mountain in the United States. And, we’ll have our standing, monthly Coming Thru on The 24th Chat on December 24th. Please stop by if you can!

Progress has been made in the organizing process for 3 major upcoming Brokie get-togethers. Please stay tuned to the newletter for weekly updates on these plans.

West Virginia Ski Trip
Between January 12 – January 15, 2007, a ski trip is booked and scheduled to take place in West Virginia. The charming cabin already reserved will be re-named Don Wroe’s Cabin for the duration of this excursion. There will be plenty of skiing, snow-tubing (weather permitting), and hiking. Rest assured that there will be plenty of cozy Brokie hang-out time around the campfire and a group viewing of Brokeback Mountain. The cozy cabin comes complete with rocking chairs and a hot tub! Organizer Lynne says there’s room for 2 or 3 more… so if you’re interested, please contact her or visit the thread dedicated to the trip in Social Forum.

Lynne further notes that transportation between the Charleston, WV or Chattanooga, TN airports and the cabin can be arranged (no need for a pesky rental car). We’re hoping for lots of snow for you all. I know that might sound a bit odd in the world of Brokeback, but we really hope you all can enjoy a winter wonderland!

More information on the ski trip here, if you are a registered forum member.

Memorial Day in the Rocky Mountains
The Brokeback BBQ 2007 is scheduled for the end of May (Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.) in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with an optional side trip to Brokenback Mountain in NE Wyoming! We have reserved an entire lodge at the beautiful YMCA Estes Park Center, at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Learn more about the park here.

Very soon, you’ll be able to reserve a space at the lodge, decide on roomates, choose activities, and get an early-bird discount. By bunking with up to five other people, you’ll be able to join in at a low daily rate that includes meals as well. Or you can have a private room at the lodge, or stay in a cabin elsewhere at the camp or in town if you prefer. This event is spearheaded by EDelMar as a successor to the tremendously successful BBQ at Auntie’s in Texas last summer. It’s open to all Brokies, and our planning committee includes Dave Cullen board members as well as LauraGigs, Front-Ranger, and brokebackjack of BetterMost. This month, we welcome sfericsf as our logistics chairman! Finally, watch for the announcement of the web site activation this month.

More information on this event here, if you are a registered forum member.

Alberta
In the long-range planning stage, a major pilgrimage is in the works to visit Alberta, Canada and the Brokeback movie sites in the summer of 2007. The tentative date range is Monday July 23 thru Tuesday July 31. People are encouraged to come for as much or as little as they can. Large group gatherings would probably occur mostly between July 26-30, but events would be scheduled for the entire duration. Possible suggested events include exploring Calgary, several film sites and the surrounding area. Festive group dinners and lunches at local restaurants and inns. Line dancing. Bonfires, picnics and cookouts. Camping and hiking trips (maybe fishing… even). A Full Moon gathering – not to be missed. And, of course, group screenings of Brokeback Mountain.

Please make your opinions known about the proposed dates by the end of December. Your input would be most welcome. In early 2007 commitments and reservations will start to be nailed down. Please contact organizers RouxB, ptannen and Meryl if you have questions or concerns. If this sounds appealing, please check out the dedicated Alberta thread in the Social Forum.

More information on the Alberta trip here, if you are a registered forum member.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season! Your FRiends Front-Ranger and atz75

Remember, our Social Forum is open to registered members of BetterMost. It takes only a few minutes to get registered on the forum, and it’s completely free.

Visit here to get yourself a free account on BetterMost Forums.

for the week of November 28-December 5, 2006

Please join me in wishing our birthday boys and girls a very happy celebration: Sheyne in Australia, Noviani in Bali, Little Darlin (Karla) in Florida, Marty in Louisiana, stevenedel in the Netherlands, Wreaah in Ontario, Canada, and EnnisLovesJack in California. Time to send cherry cake flying all over the world!

The Big Event is still going on! Brokeback Mountain premiered on HBO this week! Welcome to all our new registrants and to all who have been away but are now returning! Access to the Social Events Forum is a perq of registering. Join in and participate by socializing with your fellow BetterMostians either virtually or in person. HBO Schedule

On Wednesday, the 28th, Annie Proulx will be speaking at a Center for the American West lecture on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder (Front-Ranger Jr’s alma mater!!) and your local BetterMostians will be on hand. You can add a question at our forum thread and I will endeavor to place an envelope containing the questions into her hands. Read more here or here.

The next Full Moon Chat will be on December 4-5. We are planning two or three rounds of chat. Last month’s chat was full of serenades to the full moon. With our new chat system, we may be able to exchange graphics, so come prepared to share and enjoy! For more info, see here.

Looking ahead, we are also planning chats on December 9, U.S. movie release anniversary, the monthly “Comin Thru on the 24th” chat, and possibly on New Year’s Eve.

Looking at upcoming events, I’m sorry to report that the planned December 9 European viewing will be small and limited just to EnnisJack members. European members will be planning another get-together in the New Year. A winter ski trip in the Eastern U.S. is in the works here and major Brokie events are planned for May in Colorado and July in Alberta, Canada here.

Our Social Events neighborhood in the town of Bettermost, Wyoming, is being laid out and you’ll be able to choose your street address soon. We aim to make SE the neighborhood of choice, so stay in touch with Front Ranger/atz75 Real Estate for the choicest of locations. We’ll have all the accoutrements: a hot tub that’s always bubbling, a plasma telly, elk cutlets on the grill, a hoppin’ dance floor, a cozy campfire where you can get a nip of Old Rose and a speckled coffeepot always on the boil!!

Have a great week!
Your FRiends Front-Ranger and atz75

If you have just seen Brokeback Mountain for the first time on HBO, we understand how you are feeling right now. Each member of our community felt the same way the first time we saw this incredible movie.

BetterMost was started in February 2006 to help build a lasting, vibrant online community for those profoundly affected by the film. We’re really not just a movie discussion site. We’re a place to help you take all that energy and emotion that you feel right now and translate it into life-changing momentum, to help you achieve goals, stop missing opportunities, and help get a better feeling for just what about this movie is making you feel the way you do.

We are a site that is undergoing constant evolution, just like our members.

We invite you to join our community of Bettermost. You’ll find most of our citizens hanging out in our forums and chat rooms. You’ll see a link that those to your left. Just click and stay awhile.

All of our features don’t become visible to you until you register, so please take a moment to do so and then join the conversation and, above all, welcome home!

The front page here on BetterMost has been quiet for quite some time, but no longer. We will be introducing plenty of new content here written by our team to keep you informed about developments on the site, as well as bring you some original content we hope you will enjoy reading. So stay tuned!

Anke, or Pipedream on BetterMost is back with another great report, this time about the recent Euro Brokie Meeting in London!

It is incredible how many folks have joined our online community here and have fallen in love with all-things Brokeback. It is a real pleasure to hear the voices behind so many of the usernames on BetterMost. It’s also quite stunning to me that a little online forum less than a year old has managed to occupy so much free time in our users’ lives.

My greatest thanks to Anke and to everyone who continues to spend their time here. I hope the surprises we have in store this fall will make this place a long-term home for everyone!

Click here to enjoy this 11 minute audio report!

BetterMost has achieved 1,000,000 page views since it launched February 10, 2006. My sincere appreciation to everyone who has joined me on this journey forward. Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning, or are just joining us for the first time, thanks for being a part of the BetterMost family.

We are also thrilled to celebrate 100 rounds of the popular ABCs Game. Users move progressively through the alphabet, finding connections with all-things Brokeback Mountain. You can find the ABCs Game in our forums.