Strangeways/Sideshow

I posted this on another site today, and wanted to keep it on file...

2010-04-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

4.10 Scenes that are Gay Porn Cliches and should be avoided unless you can put a fresh spin on it:
1)The Delivery Guy Scene-Pizza, Mail, Fed-Ex, whatever, but I don’t need to see any more scenes where the delivery guy rings the doorbell, the twink comes to the door in a towel and 9 seconds later they start fucking….BO-RING!
2)Anything in an auto-body or repair shop…yes, it’s hot to see guys in zip up coveralls but it’s been done to death, and seldom with much originality.
3)Military dudes in the barracks, or in a tent, or anywhere for that matter: Clicheville
4)Locker Room/Gym: Done to death and seldom original
5)Two dudes talking in a car/truck or next to it and start getting it on: the only cliche scene that I can think of, that Maestro Gage has maybe dipped into, a little too often…
6)Generic bedroom scenes: dull, dull, dull
7)Dungeon/Cage/S&M Fantasy Room…I’m not into it anyway, but can’t it be more original than a lame dark set with cages, platforms, bars and tire swings? Yawn…
8)Any sex scene that only has a few seconds of set-up…a glance, a look and the guys are naked and in the standard porn mode of 5 minutes of A sucking B; 5 minutes of B sucking A; Salad Tossing; 10-15 minutes of anal; long drawn out slo-mo cum shots repeated three or four times ….ugh.
9)Any scene involving Big Muscle Body Builder Porn Stars with tats and a thick layer of orange body spray…one or two per movie is ok; more than that: no. I don’t know any steroid taking, orange bodybuilders; I don’t fantasize about steroid taking, orange bodybuilders and I don’t have much desire to see them having dull, steroidy, orangey sex…
10)Any scene where I have to look at Michael Lucas’s smug, orange face and scary lips.

Lost Day

2010-02-02T10:58:00.001-08:00

It's here...

14 Things You Might Want to Know About Tonite's Two Hour Premiere Titled "LA X":

A Main Character and A Guest Star we've seen before will die.

You Will Cry.

Smokey is a bad motherfucker in this episode.

The Dead Will Rise...at least 6 previously dead characters (regulars and guest stars)will be seen or HEARD alive.

Yes, we DO revisit Oceanic Flight 815 but things are a bit different this time around.

Rose and Bernard: yes.

Cindy the Stewardess: yes.

Zack and Emma: we'll see...

Vincent (the dog): unknown

Claire is back...as a series regular.

Desmond is seen, but he's NOT a season regular this year...

Bye, Bye 1977.

Hurley's Guitar Case: oh, yeah.

Sayid needs some very special healing, 'cause the bastard is bleeding out...where could they go to get that kind of help? Hmmmmm....

Stuff you really, really want to know about the next season of Lost

2009-10-06T15:40:00.001-07:00

DANGER!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! (For those highly sensitive to such...)The first section is all stuff that has been made public, ie, either released in official press announcements or said by the producers.

1)The first episode is called LA X (I believe it's two hours, so it's LA X Parts 1 and 2)
And yes, the space between the "LA" and the "X" is intentional. We pick up right where we left off last season with Juliet blowing up a bomb in 1977 Dharma times and Un-Locke egging bitter Ben to kill the mysterious Jacob.
2)Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell)will be back for an unknown amount of episodes (or maybe just one)but won't be a regular.
3)Nestor Carbonell aka Richard aka Manliner Man is now a series regular. We will learn a LOT more about Richard.
4)Emilie de Ravin (Claire) is back as a regular.
5)Many dead,missing and long since seen characters from the past will reappear next season. Dominic Monaghan appeared but did not speak at the Lost forum at ComicCon this year. He'll be in at least 3 episodes. Ian Somerholder (Boone, the first big Lost death)will also be back for a couple of episodes. It was not released in what capacity they would appear...flashbacks, dream sequences, ghosts, or alternate timelines.
6)At Comic Con, videos were shown of Hurley in a Mr Cluck commercial apparently filmed AFTER the successful landing of Oceanic flight 815 in Los Angeles, and a segment of America's Most Wanted featuring the actual host John Walsh focusing on the search for the notorious Kate Austen, but not for the murder of her father, as we learned in Season 1, but that of another man who was mistakenly in the house that Kate blew up. Apparently, a different alternate timeline will be explored in Season 6...
7)Producers did confirm that we will see Daniel (Jeremy Davies) again but did not specify in what capacity (flashback, dream, alternate timeline). And, we will see Desmond in LA X.

WARNING...MORE SPOILERY STUFF AHEAD LEARNED FROM FANSITES AND NOT OFFICIALLY RELEASED. STOP READING NOW IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO SPOILAGE!!!

8)Maggie Grace (Shannon*, Boone's stepsister) is listed on the IMDB as being in LA X.
9)The following characters have been seen on set/location in Hawaii: Ilana, Bram, Charlie*, Boone*, Doc Arzt*, Kate's Marshall*, Frogurt*,Cindy the stewardess, Zak and Emma, Ethan*, Lapidus, Rose, Bernard, Charles Widmore. (*indicates dead characters). No word if anyone has sighted Ana* or Mr Eko*, but Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said at Comic Con he was open to return to the show. Jorge Garcia (Hurley) said in an interview recently that it looked unlikely that Cynthia Watros (Libby*) would be returning, though her character will probably be mentioned. And Harold Perrineau (Michael*) said he is open to coming back as well, if the script is good.
10)A big Temple set has been constructed.
11)Jacob is the father of a character we already know.
12)Episode 3 is "What Kate Does" and is Kate-centric, (duh).
13)Episode 4 is "The Substitute" and is apparently Locke-centric. Locke's ladylove, played by Katey Sagal, will appear and his shitty little boss Randy Nations(who used to be Hurley's boss) played by Billy Ray Gallion.
14)Scenes are being shot that take place on the Island circa 2007 (last year, the time frame Un-Locke, Ben and Sun were in when they went to the base of the statue) with that cast but there also seems to be Island set, 2008 scenes with Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, etc meaning that they are no longer in 1978/Dharma times. And, most importantly, they are filming scenes of an alternate timeline featuring the characters AFTER Oceanic Flight 815 successfully lands in Los Angeles in 2004.
15)No word on the status of Jack's chest pelt...

My New Favorite Website

2009-08-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

People of Walmart

Just like life, it's heartbreaking AND hilarious and frequently both at the same time...

I originally heard about this on DListed...God bless Michael K.

What a lazy sumbitch I've been lately...

2009-08-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but my excuses are the following:

1)Nice weather excludes blogging.

2)I've had anything worth blogging about.

3)Depression and Recession.

4)General feeling of "Why bother to blog?"

5)Why bother to write blog entries that might be a paragraph or two long when you can suffice with short sentences on Facebook or Twitter?

6)I have nothing of interest to add to the general discussions ongoing vis a vis:

a)the death of Michael Jackson
b)the death of healthcare reform in this country
c)the abundance of new dessert outlets on Capitol Hill
d)local politics
e)anything to do with reality programs
f)Speidi

7)Hiding my true identity as Dick Whitman is exhausting and very time consuming...

That is all.

For now.

aaaaaah!

2009-07-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

A strange thing happened to me about 4am this morning; I woke up, shivered and realized that I needed a quilt in addition to the thin, sweat soaked sheet I had been used to covering myself with for the last several days...it was a delightful feeling.

Maybe I can work my way back to actually cooking food and taking warm showers.

Late Breaking News!

2009-07-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

After beers, professor, officer plan to meet again; perhaps start dating.
CNN International - ‎1 hour ago‎
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The officer who arrested a top African-American professor said talks over beers Thursday evening at the White House were productive and the two men plan to meet again at a Back Bay gay bar called Peckers. Sgt. James Crowley confided to a friend that he had long admired older, African-American men with an air of sophistication and butts that just won't quit, and Skip Gates just might be "the man of my dreams!"

Bing is my default search engine on my workplace laptop...

2009-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

but I prefer Google. I typed in Google in the Bing search window and Bing's response was they could not find a match for Google, but would I like to check out "Googles"?

How petty...

Shhhhhh....Don't tell Mr. Poe about my new imaginary boyfriend,

2009-06-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Rob Fyfe the silver haired daddy/CEO of Air New Zealand...and definitely don't tell him that Mr Fyfe appears nude, except for body paint, in a new ad for Air New Zealand...

But, Jebus, the Kiwi accent IS a bit harsh isn't it?

Sad...

2009-06-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

An angel skateboards into heaven...

I'm trying to decide between the Charlie's Angels episode where they're in the women's prison camp or the one with the roller derby theme as my favorite...they're both great!

A toast to Farrah.

Damn you, Trader Joe's!

2009-06-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

and your delicious Pita Bite Crackers! I can't stop eating you! And you're good with EVERYTHING! Even plain, you are deliciously addictive with your sea salt dusting and slightly burnt edges. And since you're a new addition to the Trader Joe's family, I worry that you are a temporary seasonal item and that you might go away, never to be seen, or eaten, again!

I hate you and yet, I love you...

UPDATE: I guess they're not that new or seasonal but TJ's must have got a big shipment and they've been pushing them on a big end display for the last few weeks...but I do get paranoid with Trader Joe's because they HAVE taken away things I've loved in the past.

Miami Cats Have Snit Over Release Of Accused Cat Serial Killer

2009-06-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

Cat killings suspect no danger, judge says
United Press International - ‎20 hours ago‎
MIAMI, June 17 (UPI) -- A Miami man accused of killing and mutilating 19 cats was released on bond Wednesday after a judge ruled he posed no danger. ...

Mr Boots, taken weeks before the tragedy. (File photo)

Mittens, a two-year old mixed Persian, sits nervously in her home in Miami Beach. Her beautiful green eyes dart around the room fearfully and she immediately jumps to her paws when a garbage truck drives by her modestly decorated Art Deco duplex. She seems embarassed at her reaction but makes no apologies as she returns to our conversation with frequent breaks for some casual grooming. "It's so hard for me to understand why this judge would think this monster would pose no threat to the Feline-American community of South Florida," she says quietly as she reflexively clenches and unclenches her claws into the arms of the sofa. "He has been accused of slaughtering 19 cats! And, two of them, Tabitha Sue Martin and Mr Boots, were very close friends of mine! We frequently used to meet up in the alley behind that fish place on 34th Street. We had a lot of good times together, eating fish heads and playing with balls of string...and now, that's all gone; I'll never see my friends again!"

Other cats and their friends and supporters, are equally mystified at the remarks made by the judge. Only "Butch", a spokesperson from the Gruff Dog Coalition of Greater Dade County who refused to give a last name and wore no tag on his masculine spiked collar, expressed support for the decision made by the court.

story continued on back page...

A million apologies for my lack of posts.

2009-06-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

I've been busy with work, SIFF, some sort of lovelife, barbecuing in this divine weather, and being irritated by the Administration of Barack Obama, Chase-Manhattan Bank, my brother's douchey employers and a lack of time and money,(in other words, all the usual suspects...).

Still, I feel shitty for neglecting you.

My utmost apologies.

To make it up to you, here is a picture of Mad Men star, Jon Hamm.

Sadly, he is clothed.

My New Favorite Band: Empire of the Sun

2009-05-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's fronted by Australians Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson (the chubby blonde) and Nick Littlemore of Pnau, (the wriggly brunette)...I think they're the Next Big Thing in a hipster, gay music sort of way. Check out the video for We Are the People here...Oh, and I first heard about them at Steven Blum's blog, Ohmygod, Seattle!

Best Song About Ladybugs, EVUH!!!

2009-05-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street!

Go here for a Ladybug picnic...

Apparently my credit card number decided to take a vacation in Rensselaer, New York and didn't bother to invite me!!

2009-05-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have joined the ranks of those many Americans who have become the victims of credit fraud! On Monday, I went to use my WaMu/Chase credit/debit card at my local teryaki joint only to have it declined...five times. Needless to say, I was furious at the restaurant and/or WaMa/Chase for fucking up a simple credit transaction when I had at least $500 in my checking account so I stormed out of the restaurant and walked the 4 blocks to Fremont to check my balance at an ATM and to buy me some food for my lunch. Apparently, though, there's only ONE fucking ATM in Fremont and it's some rinky-dink Frontier Bank ATM and it wouldn't/couldn't give me an account balance. By this point I'm furious AND starving but I was also nervous about using my card because frankly it's embarassing to have your card declined in front of witnessess because no one ever believes you when you tell them that you really do have money in your account. In desperation, I grabbed a cheap sandwich at PCC and used the self-service check-out where I was successfully able to make a DEBIT card transaction. "Ah, hah!" I thought as I walked back to work, scarfing down my chicken salad sandwich, "So there ISN'T anything wrong with my card, it's the crappy credit card machine at the teryaki place!"

Still, I was uneasy about my card and bank account so as soon as I got back to work, I called the bank to get a balance...and, there was a mysterious pending charge on my account for $84.20. Now, I am not a fiscally responsible person; I have much debt and I haven't balanced my checking account in 25 years but I do have a pretty good memory and I generally know my aproximate bank balance at all times and I was having a hard time remembering having made any kind of transaction recently that was anywhere close to $84.20. I then went online to find out that I had apparently purchased $84.20 worth of wine and/or beer at a store called "Grapes & Grains"...in Rensselaer, NY a suburb of Albany. Needless to say I've never been to Rensselaer, NY so I immediately called WaMu/Chase to report the theft of my card number and to discover that they too had been alarmed by my apparent teleporting from Seattle to New York and back again last Friday, and had put a hold on my credit card, (but strangely enough, not on the debit part of my card, because it still worked). So, they cancelled my card, (which means I have to go a week without having a debit/credit card and quick access to my money) but I was relieved that the crooks had only gotten away with one transaction...or so I thought. On Wednesday, I stopped off at the Broadway WaMu on my way to work to deposit a SIFF paycheck and to withdraw $200 to last me for the week. The nice teller lady handed me my money and the receipt with my new balance on it...after my withdrawal I only had about $30 left in my account when I should have had around $300. I asked her to look at the account to see if there had been any new "funny" transactions...well, apparently after buying their weekend supply of beer/wine my thieves went to gas up their SUV because they used my card number to spend $200 at an Exxon gas station in Rensselaer. Also, there didn't seem to be anything going on with me getting back the money already stolen from me. But, the teller was very nice and got one of the desk people to help me and they called the Fraud Department for me and this time I think I actually got a customer service rep who knew what they were doing and they opened a file for me and gave me a case number and told me I should have the money back in my account within 5 business days, (it took less than one; I got my money back today), so I'm relatively happy and only put out that I have to wait until next week to get my new card.

Oh, and I have a strong suspicion that someone at Seattle Central stole my number. I belong to the gym there and they process the payment transactions like it was 1991. They take an IMPRINT of your card with all the info on it and it doesn't get run for several days and I'm assuming that that imprint is just sitting around in a box or drawer for days in plain site of the many dozens of student workers at the front desk. It's the only "odd" transaction I've made in months; 98% of my credit transactions are immediately swiped at the dozen or so businesses where I make my custom, (Safeway, Trader Joe's, the teryaki place, the cigarette store, Subway). So, if I decide to renew my gym membership at Central, I'm paying cash which means I'll have to to the fucking bursurs office to make my payment...(and apparently the bursur's office at Central also takes card imprints when you pay by card, which is ludicrous in this day and age for a state run institution).

And, I'm going to have to eat crow and take some candy to the nice ladies at my teryaki place...I wasn't verbally mean to them but I did angrily storm out of the restaurant like it was their fault and now I feel guilty that it came across that I blamed them and they ARE nice and make good, non-greasy teryaki which I'm eternally grateful for...

Rumor has it, the Georgetown Music Festival cancelled...

2009-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

...due to lack of sponsorship.

Dat's de word on de street...

If it's true, that's sad.

Juliet LIVES!!!

2009-05-14T16:02:00.001-07:00

Or, at least she'd better live or I will personally take down ABC, Disney and Team Darlton for killing off the most interesting female character on Lost. (which would consist of me whining about how awful they are, on this blog which no one reads...so take that, Disney!)

But then again, we didn't see her, (or Sayid, for that matter) actually kick the bucket...plus, if Daniel/Jack's dumb "let's blow up the Island to correct our time anomaly" trick actually worked, then NONE of this will have happened and poor Juliet will be stuck back on the Island circa 2003 slaving away for The Others trying to solve their problems with maternity.

Right?

And, as for last night's season ending episode, I really enjoyed it, (except for the maybe killing Juliet thing and the presence of Jack, a character I care nothing about, and judging by the way the writers of the show write for him, they don't seem that invested in Jack either...) The introduction of Jacob and his eternal nemesis Esau/the Man in Black/that guy from Deadwood was well done and seemed to set the show up for the inevitable good guys/bad guys showdown in season 6, (even though we're still not sure who's "good" and who's "bad"; I'm guessing that we're going to continue with that ambivalence through the end of the series, which I like). I loved all the scenes with Ben and FakeLocke and the realization that The Man in Black has been playing numerous roles over the course of time, (don't you think it likely that it was MIB who was inhabitating Jack's dead dad Christian and other ghostly presences on the Island since it apparently wasn't possible for MIB to leave the Cabin he was imprisoned in?) And, do you really think Ben has been played for a patsy for all these years, or was that entire ending scene worked out beforehand between Ben and Jacob? And, is Jacob really dead? It would seem to me that a guy who's apparently lived for quite a long time, wouldn't be so easily dispatched...And, what about...oh, I could go on for pages and pages so let me just list some thoughts and questions:

Are Rose and Bernard really "retired"? Was this just a way to write them out of the story? Or, do they have a larger role to play in the future?

Where was Walt?!?!?! He's been in every final episode of every season...his character seemed so important in the beginning and now he's seemed to fade away...will he come back next year, or will that be possible if the Losties are blown back to 2003 when Walt was only 11?

Where was Desmond? And Penny? And Widmore? Are they yesterdays news?

If the bomb plan worked and the original Losties never came to the Island, does that mean that Charlie and AnaLucia and Libby and Eko and Shannon and Michael and all the others killed on the Island are still alive? Does that mean that we'll SEE some of these characters next season? (We already know that Claire will be returning next year but she's never been officially confirmed as dead...)

I hope Sayid IS dead...there's nothing more to be done with his character...but, it WAS sad when Nadia was run down...(and who's driving the killer car that has run over several characters over the years? Is it one of the many drunk driving Lost actors?)

Richard Alpert: is it just me, or is his character sort of stupid? He seemed so all-knowing at first and now he just seems clueless...or is it an act?

Wassup with Ilana and Company? Are they original to the Island? Is Ilana as old as Alpert or Jacob? How many toes does she have?

Jacob was kind of....hot, in a blond, Scandinavian Jesus-y sort of way.

Finally...

REALLY...JULIET HAD BETTER NOT BE FUCKIN' DEAD, MOTHERFUCKERS AT ABC/DISNEY/BAD ROBOT!!!!!!!I MEAN IT!!!!

Shit...8 more months to a new Lost episode...

Namaste

The Road begins to put up signs that it nears completion.

2009-05-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently the marketing push for the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's dystopic, best seller The Road has begun as Tom Chiarella of Esquire was given an advance screening of the film and has proceeded to declare: "The Road is the Most Important Movie of the Year." You can read his jizz-covered review over at the Esquire website. And to follow up, The Weinstein Company has released the first trailer for the film; you can catch it on YouTube. I have to say, the visuals look very impressive but it's hard to determine the overall quality of a film from a trailer. Viggo Mortensen seems well cast as The Man, but it was a bit off-putting to see so much of Charlize Theron as his wife in the trailer...in the book, the wife has a very limited physical presence. Either her part was significantly beefed up to attract a bigger named actress, or, we're seeing the majority of her moments in the trailer in an effort to draw more people to the film. And I wouldn't blame them for that; the book has a large number of fans who will want to see the film, but it's going to be tough to lure a significant number of the general population to pay $10 for a two hour filmed bleakfest featuring cannibals, babies roasting on a spit, sex-slaves, and a general lack of hope and basic hygiene...Still, I plan on seeing this. I'm a sucker for dystopic societies. The film is scheduled to open October 16th, and I'm guessing that it will be a limited release at first to gather up steam for award season.

Torso is Morte!

2009-05-13T16:16:00.001-07:00

That keening sound you hear in the air is the anguished voices of millions of gay men over the age of 30 mourning the news that the Mavety publishing group has announced they are ceasing publication of the gay erotic magazine titles, Torso, Mandate, Playguy, Inches and Honcho. Mandate, the oldest of the group, has been published for 34 years. The blog Boy Culture first reported the news on Monday and it was picked up by sites all over the web. I've tried to find some sort of official announcement, but none seems to have been made and Mavety doesn't appear to have an public website...which might help explain why they had to shutter the mags. Matthew Rettenmund, the blogger at Boy Culture who broke the story, previously worked for the Mavety Group and has an insider's take on the demise of the magazines and gives a fitting tribute to their creator and publisher George Mavety, (who himself died in 2000), a heterosexual Canadian who also created Juggs, which has NOT ceased publication.

I have a tub, or two, of old gay porno mags at home that I never look at anymore but I'm loathe to throw them away because they're kind of an important part of my life as a gay man...for gay men coming of age in the late 70's and throughout the 80's and even well into the 90's, these magazines were the only sources of information we had about our sexuality and what it meant to be gay. And maybe the information wasn't always the best and maybe it created a false sense of worth, (just like mainstream magazines do for straight people), but it was all we had...and it was sexy as hell in a world deprived of 24 hour instant internet access to sexual imagery from around the world.

A toast to Torso, and Mandate, and Honcho, and Playguy and Inches...

Tonite on Lost: The Incident

2009-05-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
Jack's decision to put a plan in action in order to set things right on the island is met with some strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task, on the season finale of “Lost.”

Guest List
L. Scott Caldwell as Rose
Sam Anderson as Bernard
John Terry as Christian Shephard
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus
Francois Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang
Patrick Fischler as Phi
l Eric Lange as Radzinsky
Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana
Brad William Henke as Bram
Jon Gries as Roger Linus
Alice Evans as younger Eloise Hawking
Andrea Gabriel as Noor “Nadia” Abed Jaseem
Kevin Chapman as Mitch
Mark Pellegrino as man #1
Titus Welliver as man #2
Emily Rae Argenti as young Kate
Tanner Maguire as young Tom
George Gerdes as Mr. Springer
Agnes Kwak as Aunt Soo
Amy Stewart as mother
Rylee Fansler as young Juliet
Savannah Lathem as young Rachel
William Makozak as Captain Bird
Daniel James Kunkel as anesthesiologist
Sonya Masinovsky as Russian nurse
Keegan Boos as young Sawyer
Colby French as Uncle Doug
John Pete as prison clerk
Michael Trisler as father he
Sally Davis as woman
Adam Bazzi as cab driver

It's a joyously sad day as we approach tonite's season ending, 2 hour finale, The Incident; a joyous and exciting time to savor what will probably be an engaging episode and of course a day of sadness as rabid Lost fans realize it'll be 8 months or so until their next new episode and the start of Lost's 6th and final season. But, we won't dwell on that...or, at least not for the time being.

What should we expect from tonite's episode? Well, just from scuttlebutt, rumor and the cast list featured above I'm guessing we're going to continue our Jacob hunt with Super Locke and Company in 2007 and somewhere along the way we might be running into both the long missing Rose/Bernard/Vincent the dog contigent AND the mysterious Ilana/Bram/knocked out Lapidus/Shadow of the Statue posse we last saw on Hydra Island...And we know that Jack/Sawyer/MiddleAged but sexy as hell Ms Hawking are up to no good with the Jughead bomb and that something causes the notorious Incident at the Swan Station that sounds like it might be explosive...AND, that promo clips for tonite's show feature our favorite uncomfortable trio of Sawyer/Kate/Juliet back ON the Island and NOT on the submarine bound for Ann Arbor, (does Ann Arbor have a submarine dock?), so apparently they either discovered a way to teleport off a submarine, or more likely, Sawyer just beaned the Captain in the head and shanghaied the sub to take them back to the Island...

And judging by that cast list, I'm assuming we're in for some flashbacks of our heroes, including trips back in time to the death of Nadia, Jin and Sun's wedding, Locke's crippling fall, spikey haired medical resident Jack with his dad, and various pre-teen incarnations of Sawyer/Kate/Kate's friend that she sorta killed/Juliet and Juliet's cancer stricken sister before she got the cancer. Oh, and we'll find out why Hurley came back to the Island, and where did that guitar case come from that he keeps hauling around?

Oddly, enough, there's no sign of Penny or Old Man Widmore on the guest list which leads to the question, "Will Desmond have much to do on tonite's episode?" (Desmond, and Sun/Jin got pretty short shifted this season...very little for them to do...)

Lastly, it seems likely we WILL see Jacob, or at least, some form of Jacob at some point AND, I'm predicting we're going to see Walt and maybe the long missing Claire in some form, in tonite's episode. (The Walt/Claire prediction is NOT a spoiler; I'm just guessing here...I don't have any insider knowledge that they will be on the show tonite.) For that matter, I'm guessing that the Guest Cast List might be short SEVERAL names...we'll see.

Obviously, I'm a bit bored...

2009-05-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

My eyes, (which are hazel) look very blue in the top photo...

and very dark in the last two photos...

Today at SIFF!

2009-05-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

C'mon down and buy some tickets at Ticket Island in Pacific Place!

Travis Louie at Roq La Rue...

2009-05-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

For more Louie go here. For more Roq La Rue, go here. The Lush Life group show runs through June 2nd and features art by:

Joe Sorren, Chris Berens, Chris Conn Askew, Mia Araujo, Melissa Forman, Travis Louie, Madeline Von Foerster, Martin Wittfooth, Kukula, Ryan Heshka, John Brophy, Tin, Brian Despain, Glenn Barr, Dan Quintana, Femke Hiemstra, Laurie Hogin, Lisa Petrucci, and Andrew Arconti

Go. Now. See. Buy.

Things that make you go: WTF?

2009-05-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

I got this picture from Awkward Family Photos, maybe the best website EVUH, but I originally heard about the site at DListed...

This picture raises soooooo very many questions...the primary one being, of course, WHY?
Did Mom or Dad wake up one day with the idea, "Hey, lets make nekkid costumes for the entire family to wear?" And, WHERE did they wear these costumes? Was it for a family event, or a public event? Did the kids wear these to school? What was the reaction of the other guests? Is this a nudist family or are they just 'wacky'? Is Daddy's real wang the same size as the costume wang? And is Mommy's bush really that uh, bushy? And, why is little Susie playing with Daddy's costume wang in the first place?

I'm guessing they MUST be European...can you tell in the photo if the costume wang is cut, or uncut?

Shawn Levy responds...

2009-05-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted about my ire at Paul Newman biographer Shawn Levy, a film critic at The Oregonian, and his comments to Ray Pride at Movie City News in an interview about Levy's recently published Newman bio and Levy's remarks concerning Paul Newman's height. I sent a short email to Pride expressing my ire, and Pride briefly responded with a reply email but he must have cc'd Levy because I got a response from Shawn Levy this morning:

As I said in the very brief comment, he was likely closer to 5'10" as a young man than he was when he was in his 60s, when he'd shrunken with age. At any rate, having never met him, I'm just guesstimating from pictures and such.

Shawn Levy

Writers sure are touchy! A little criticism from a nobody like me and he feels the need to defend himself! But, I appreciate the fact that he responded. Oh, and here's my response to Levy's email, and I should point out beforehand that Paul Newman: A Life is Levy's 5th book; his previous book, The Last Playboy, a biography of noted mid-century Dominican cocksman/playboy/gigolo/diplomat Porfirio Rubirosa and his legendary monster schlong is a very entertaining read and one I can recommend to fans of pop culture, histories of cafe society and/or biographies of men with extremely large penises...

I guess I'll forgive you but only because I enjoyed The Last Playboy and have to appreciate any biographer who would bother to write about such a marginal but fascinating figure of mid-twentieth century history.

I wonder if Rubi "shrunk" as he got older?

As for Mr Newman and other average or slightly below average height male stars, I've always thought it a bit silly their desperation at maintaining an image that they MUST be of a certain height in order to project masculinity and a sense of power. On the whole, do audiences really care? And do shorter male stars dread going on Letterman; after all, he's over 6 foot. For that 10 second moment when they meet and shake hands at the desk before sitting down, you can pretty accurately judge the guest's height in comparison to Dave's...

Sorry, Shawn...have to call Bullshit on that...

2009-05-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ray Price over on Movie City News has an interview with Oregonian film critic Shawn Levy and a conversation about Levy's new book, the unimaginatively titled, Paul Newman: A Life. Here's an excerpt from that interview:

PRIDE: How tall was Newman? Is it just the bad internets having a field day lately with varying estimates?

LEVY: I think that in the fullness of his time he stood about five ten-and-a-half or a smidge taller. But by the time the N. Y. Post started taking potshots at him for being short, he was nearing 60 and probably had ceded an inch or two to age.

I seriously have to question how accurate of a job Levy did on this biography when he's willing to perpetuate a stupid lie about an actor's height, especially since I have personal knowledge of this. I encountered Paul Newman in 1989 when he was filming Mr and Mrs Bridge in Kansas City. I was on my way to work one afternoon and was walking the three blocks from my bus stop to the downtown hotel I worked at, when I noticed a lot of big trucks and trailers parked near an old hotel; obviously, they were filming Bridge in the area, something that had been going on for several weeks at this point and a sight I was used to seeing because I had already run across the trucks not far from my apartment. That day, as I was hurrying to work, I didn't pay much attention to the film trucks. There was little obvious activity going on at street level, but as I got closer to the trucks I did notice a solitary man, in a 1940's period suit, walking towards me in the general direction of some parked trailers. Obviously it was an actor in the film and I thought, "Cool, I'm getting to see some behind the scenes stuff" and as we passed each other we acknowledged each other and did the nodded head/slight smile thing and I walked about another 10 feet and realized that I had just passed by Paul Newman. (the same thing happened to me in NYC when I walked by Paul Simon, who's notoriously short). I immediately spun around to gawk at him as he entered a trailer, and I gaily skipped the remaining two blocks to work to delightedly tell my co-workers that I had just had a Newman sighting!

"Ohmigod! I just encountered Paul Newman on the street!" were the first words out of mouth, and the second sentence I excitedly uttered were words along the line of: "And he's fuckin' tiny! Like 5'7" at best, and maybe 140 pounds!", which surprised no one since this was a downtown hotel and we were used to seeing celebrities in person and the inevitable disappointment of meeting celebrities in person and discovering they are ususlly smaller, duller and surlier in person than they are on your tv or movie screen. And, I should point out, my perception of Mr Newman's height was based on the fact we walked right past each other, and I'm not quite 5.10 (5' 9" 3/4)and Mr Newman was at least a couple inches shorter than me. That was in 1989 when Newman was about 64...is it really common for adult men to shrink three inches by their mid-sixties?

So, judging by Shawn Levy's dorky defense of his dead biography subjects height, I'm guessing that Levy doesn't venture much into the "Paul Newman was gay/bi" controversy in his book...

Oh, and go here for a hilarious discussion of Newman's height...and other celebrities as well including the not quite 5'10 Robert Redford.

Tonite on Lost: Follow The Leader

2009-05-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
Jack and Kate find themselves at odds over the direction to take to save their fellow island survivors, Locke further solidifies his stance as leader of "The Others," and Sawyer and Juliet come under scrutiny from the Dharma Initiative.

Written by Paul Zbyszewski & Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by Stephen Williams

Guest List
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Francois Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang
Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed
Patrick Fischler as Phil
Eric Lange as Radzinsky
David S. Lee as younger Charles Widmore
Alice Evans as younger Eloise Hawking
Leslie Ishii as Lara
Sebastian Siegel as Erik
Kevin Chapman as Mitch
Elisabeth Blake as Vanessa
William Makozak as Captain Bird
Victoria Goring as mother
Maya Henssens as young Charlotte

Yes, I've cheated and peeked at spoilers for tonite's penultimate Season 5 episode on a Lost fansite, which is pretty complete because Lost producer Carlton Cuse screened the entire episode at Ohio State University last night. I won't spoil things for the folks who don't want to know, but I will give you some vague hints...

The episode is split between 1977/Dharma Times and 2008/Locke-Sun-Ben times. It's a non-centric episode, meaning it doesn't focus on one character. We'll see all our current main Losties except for Des/Penny.

Richard Alpert will get quite a lot of screen time in BOTH sections and we get more confirmation that he is Very Old and he's the designated advisor guy to the Hostiles/Others but, contrary to some rumours, this is NOT a Richard-centric episode.

John Locke will continue in his new role as New Improved Super Confident Leader Guy much to Ben's chagrin and Alpert's amazement.

Three of our Losties will get a major smackdown.

We'll have a little mourning for Daniel (who is indeed dead) but not that much.

Jughead will play a role.

As usual, Hurley gets the funniest scene.

And things start to get very Indiana Jonesish for some of our heroes and Das Booty for others...

Next week, the two hour season finale titled "The Incident" airs and for the first time there aren't any major spoilers/synopsis swirling about the Internet which might mean that ABC/Disney has got this thing under tight wraps. But several actors have hinted that it's going to be big and crazy and game-changing with some putting it that they're not sure how they can pull off next season. Oh, and there is another Big Death to come, on the level of Charlie's death from two years ago...my money is on Sayid, since he's pretty much wrapped up his storyline AND he'll have to be punished for shooting a 14 year old in the chest...even if it was Hitler to be, Ben Linus.

Namaste.

It's Tony Time!

2009-05-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Seattle dude/director Bartlett Sher gets his 4th nomination for the revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone; Dolly Parton (9 to 5) and Elton John (Billy Elliot) face off in the best score categoy; American Idol reject/douchebag from a few season's back, Constantine Maroulis (pictured above; image from Getty) gets a leading actor in a musical nomination for Rock of Ages and 109 year old Angela Lansbury gets a featured actress nod for the 4,789th revival of Blithe Spirit...Oh, and Billy Elliot got the most nominations with 15 including a best actor in a musical nomination shared by all three young actors who play the leading role of Billy Elliot on different nights. Snubbed: Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe failed to earn a nomination for his highly praised performance in the revival of Equus. For a full list, go HERE!

Tales from the Plague Year

2009-05-04T12:47:00.001-07:00

My brother, who suffers from seasonal allergies, was at his job last week and he sneezed violently in front of a female customer who glared at him, a look of horror and revulsion on her face because she obviously thought he might have infected her with the flu. Not one to put up with ANY bullshit, my brother said to her, "I have ALLERGIES; there's no need to panic!" She retorted, "How would I know that? I don't want to take any chances!" After my brother told me of this incident, I told him that he should have come back with, "If you don't want to take any chances with contracting swine flu, then why are you out in public shopping in a furniture store? It's not like furniture is a necessity...if you're that paranoid, then stay the fuck home..."

And, two of the bloggers I follow daily, Michael K of Dlisted and Homer from Homer's World, are both down with the flu, though neither one has apparently gone to the doctor to have it confirmed. You can check out both their sites in my list of recommended websites over to your right. Wishing them both a speedy recovery.

Does Safeway Have An Obligation to Keep Erica C Barnett Out of the Wine Section of their Stores?

2009-05-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Yes.

ECB sticks her STUPID, STUPID FOOT, in her STUPID, STUPID MOUTH, yet again.

Reading that post has made me insanely angry at her for being such a stupid, selfish, mean, self-centered asshat. (I refrained from using the b-word, so as to NOT give her ammunition, but she does fit the definition...)

She really needs to go...there's dozens of unemployed journalists out there with more talent and common sense than ECB. Also, it's time that The Stranger had some new blood; things are getting dull and stale over there.

Her continued employment at The Stranger must mean she has incriminating photos/tapes of Keck and/or Savage.

Who the hell is "Pamela Strangeways"? And, why is she posting on Gawker?

2009-05-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

I will NOT have any unauthorized, less-talented relatives dragging me down and riding on my coattails!!! I will NOT be Frank Stalloned or Jim Belushied, let alone Lorna Lufted!!

The bitch, AND Gawker, will hear from my legal counsel!

Tonite on Lost: The Variable

2009-04-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
THE TIME OF RECKONING BEGINS AS DANIEL FARADAY COMES CLEAN REGARDING WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT THE ISLAND

On the 100th episode milestone for the series, the time of reckoning has begun when Daniel Faraday comes clean regarding what he knows about the island.

Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Directed by Paul Edwards

Guest List
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Sonya Walger as Penelope “Penny” Widmore
Alan Dale as Charles Widmore
Francois Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang
Fionnula Flanagan as Eloise Hawking
Patrick Fischler as Phil
Eric Lange as Radzinsky
Sarah Farooqui as Theresa
Alice Evans as younger Eloise Hawking
Wendy Pearson as E.R. doctor
Todd Coolidge as paramedic
Peggy Anne Siegmund as caretaker
Jennifer Sojot as E.R. nurse
Spencer Allyn as young Daniel Faraday
Michael Dempsey as foreman
Maya Henssens as young girl
Ariston Green as workman
Marvin DeFreitas as young Charlie
Brad Berryhill as anxious guy

It's a big night for Lost fans; not only is it the 100th hour of Lost but it's the long-awaited Daniel Faraday-centric episode that fans have been anxious about for a very long time as well as a follow up to the fate of favorite Brutha Desmond following his bout with a milk carton shooting Ben before Ben left on the Ajira flight to return to the Island...And, we get to spend some time with not just one, but two incarnations of Ms Hawking, (which brings our total number of seen on screen Hawkings to three; we saw a teen Hawking in Jughead).

And, I'm one of those rotten people who LIKE spoilers, so I know quite a lot about tonite's episode but I won't spoil it for y'all but, at least on paper, it promises to be a wild night with a lot of information revealed and a heartbreaking twist at the end. Should be an enjoyable night. We then get a new episode next week, titled "Follow the Leader" which appears to focus on Jack and Kate, then two weeks from tonite is the 2 hour season finale entitled "The Incident" which will feature an appearance by a character we've long speculated about and some very important flashbacks of the Losties at pivotol moments in their lives, including at least three instances of checking in with our characters circa age 10 or so. Oh, and I'm sure they'll be some crazy ass twist or an appearance by someone long thought dead or a time travel twist or two and maybe a polar bear and some more Ancient Egyptian stuff.... Oh, and we WILL see Bernard and Rose and Vincent.

Namaste.

Three...Two...One...

2009-04-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

The countdown to the moment when a fucktard, fundie, douchebag begins preaching that Swine Flu is god's retribution for gay marriage...

Also, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services yesterday in move to get her up and running to deal with the threat of a major pandemic...do you think at one point she wanted to turn to Obama and say, "Ya know, Barry, I think I've changed my mind..."

Who's no lady?

2009-04-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

I found a great resource on line, a blogsite called History of Gay Bars in New York City. All sorts of interesting links to other gay history sites and quotes from books and photos of the "Olden Days". Whether you're gay or not, you ought to check it out. As a social history nerd, I eat this stuff up and it doesn't matter if it's gay or straight; books about HOW people lived their lives, from the big stuff to the mundane, has always fascinated me...I remember asking my 6th grade social studies teacher, "What kind of underwear did the Romans wear?" She wasn't mad at the question; she thought it interesting and legitimate and was honest enough to admit she didn't know but it would be interesting to find out...I think the reason so many people HATE history and studying it in school is because of the boring way most teachers and schools insist on teaching it, with way too much droning on about dates and battles and treaties and elections...no wonder people zone out. I've always encouraged people to study histories on their own and search out the answers to the questions they are interested in...and to always remember, history is really just very old gossip.

Beatrice Arthur: 1922-2009

2009-04-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Words fail me...Vera/Maude/Dorothy is mort.

A toast to our Queen Bea. A dozen toasts in fact. And a cheesecake, or two.

And go here for the Queen at her bawdiest. Oh...the fuckers at Viacom made YouTube take down the clip of Bea reading from Pam Anderson's book at the Comedy Central Roast of Anderson from a few years ago...I'm sure if you Google it, or go to the Comedy Central website, you can find it. It's worth it just to hear Beatrice Arthur declaiming about anal sex...

Mr Garrison Goes to Chicago

2009-04-27T11:36:00.001-07:00

Here's why Nick Garrison wasn't in last weeks Brown Derby production of The Goonies at Re-bar:He's been busy in Chicago doing Hedwig for The American Theater Company. If you go their website, you can see clips of Nick doing numbers from the show, which has been extended through May 31st. Go check it out.

Welcome to the American Dystopia: Concept Art for The Road

2009-04-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hugh Marchant worked on the upcoming film of Cormac McCarthy's The Road directed by John Hillcoat and starring Viggo Mortensen as The Man and Kodi Smit-McPhee as The Boy. I can't find anything official about his credits/contributions to the film, but it looks like Marchant worked on the script and helped with the design and visual concepts of the film with the production designer Chris Kennedy. Marchant has posted some cool art from the film, using paint, pencil and photo montage based on actual location photos. It's beautiful, haunting and at times, surreal. Check it out here.

And, The Road still doesn't have an official release date, but rumors are floating that it will probably play the big fall festivals (Toronto/New York) and open in October or November to take advantage of award season.
And, remember these aren't actual STILLS from the film, but montaged art based on photos taken on set at the locations used. It all LOOKS great but more importantly, it will hopefully play well as a MOVING film and not just a bunch of great images...

Cannes 2009

2009-04-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Some pretty amazing filmmakers/films this year: Almodovar, Tarantino, Loach, Haneke, Park Chan-Wook, Campion, von Trier, Noe, Resnais. Sadly, I doubt any on them will play SIFF since SIFF and Cannes happen at the same time, though sometimes SIFF gets smaller films from Cannes or films that are not in competition for the Palme D'or. I'm most interested in von Trier's Antichrist, Almodovar's Broken Embraces(poster pictured above), and Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, despite the fact I have reservations about Basterds reported 2 and a half hour running time...Oh, and Lee Daniels Precious, the M'onique starring film based on the novel by Sapphire, which wowed/shocked Sundance for its shocking scenes of child abuse, drugs and sex, is competing in the Un Certain Regard category, ie, the Cannes category for smaller films or films by less known directors. Here's the full Palme D'or list:

In Competition

"Bright Star," Australia-U.K.-France, Jane Campion

"Spring Fever," China-France, Lou Ye

"Antichrist," Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier

"Enter the Void," France, Gaspar Noé

"Face," France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang

"Les herbes folles," France-Italy, Alain Resnais

"In the Beginning," France, Xavier Giannoli

"A Prophet," France, Jacques Audiard

"The White Ribbon," Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke

"Vengeance," Hong Kong-France-U.S., Johnnie To

"The Time That Remains," Israel-France-Belgium-Italy, Elia Suleiman

"Vincere," Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio

"Kinatay," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza

"Thirst," South Korea-U.S., Park Chan-wook

"Broken Embraces," Spain, Pedro Almodóvar

"Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," Spain, Isabel Coixet

"Fish Tank," U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold

"Looking for Eric," U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach

"Inglourious Basterds," U.S., Quentin Tarantino

"Taking Woodstock," U.S., Ang Lee

For more info on Cannes, go here.

UPDATE: The line-up for the Director's Fortnight at Cannes has just been announced, (another of the competitions, and not as prestigious as the Palme d'Or usually filled by new talent or more experimental films) and Lynn Shelton's Humpday will compete along with Coppola's Tetro. Coppola is reportedly not very pleased his film is competing in this category and not Palme d'Or.

More art: Jorge Santos

2009-04-24T11:21:00.001-07:00

Jorge Santos: Peking Duck, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24", 2008

Hunter‘s Helper, Oil/ Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 60", 2006

David Lyle at George Billis Gallery/NYC

2009-04-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

New art by the photorealist painter. Show opens April 30th and runs through May 23rd in NYC.

It's funny because it's true. They Say That Grandpa's Forgetting Things Lately. Like Just The Other Day He Forgot Where He Parked the Car,
oil on panel, 40 x 44", 2008

They Say That My Uncle is the Black Sheep of the Family, oil on panel, 28 x 31", 2008

Humpday centers itself for SIFF

2009-04-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Local filmmaker Lynn Shelton's Humpday, which was acclaimed at Sundance this year, is the Centerpiece Gala selection at SIFF this year, premiering at the Egyptian, Friday June 5th. The locally produced film won the Spirit of Independence Award at Sundance and has been picked up for national distribution by Magnolia Pictures. It's the story of two straight guys who decide to make a gay porno film for The Stranger's annual erotic film festival, HUMP! and the mumblecore comedy promises to bring down the house... This is bound to sell out very quickly, so get your tickets as soon as possible...passes and ticket packages are available NOW, but single ticket sales begin May 7th for SIFF members and May 8th for the general public.

In less interesting news, SIFF will also honor Spike Lee with an award and Francis Ford Coppola will be in town to screen his latest film, Tetro, which more than likely will demonstrate that Coppola peaked in the 70's and it's been a wine fueled trek downhill since then, but we'll keep an open mind, shan't we? Bitchy queen note: they couldn't have found two slightly hotter guys to play the leads? (and the dark haired one looks like Oliver Stone...I hate Oliver Stone.)Some hot nerds would have been lovely and preferred to these two mildly interesting schlubs, but maybe they have some sexy onscreen chemistry, so we'll continue to keep our minds open...ish.

Tonite on Lost: A Dumb Clip Show about the Oceanic 6

2009-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wake me when it's next Wednesday and the 100th hour of Lost, an episode titled "The Variable" which is promissing to explain a lot of Island stuff, courtesy of centric hero Daniel. AND, we'll also check in on Desmond to see how he's doing after Ben shot him in the milk jugs. Oh, and judging by some official promo pictures we're seeing, I'm thinking we might find out who Penelope Widmore's mom might be...and it's someone we've already met...(this is my guess, not a spoiler by the way).

But, that's NEXT week...sigh.

To help pass the time, here is an insanely hot still of Jason Stathem from some dumb movie he's currently in, SURGE 2: Electric Boobaloo, I think it's called...

UPDATE: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD!!!! I'VE JUST READ A HUGEASS SPOILER FOR NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE AND IT'S PRETTY SHOCKING!!! I won't tell you anything except, someone Major will die, (which is shocking enough) and the name of the killer is more shocking, (and tragic) than the name of the victim.

I'm channeling Ed Grimley here, I'm so excited about next week's episode!!!

This weekend: Trannyshack and the Wynnsome Ms Greenwood both make some Art.

2009-04-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

You have your choice: The killer punk drag performance artists from Trannyshack performs at Chop Suey Saturday night and the wunnerful Wynne Greenwood debuts her new performance piece, Sister Taking Nap at On the Boards tonite, Saturday and Sunday. The Stranger and Regina Hackett are raving over Greenwood's piece and The Stranger post has a link to an Artforum article on Greenwood and the show. Or, go see both.

Braggart's corner: I know a Trannyshacker and I know Wynne Greenwood and I adore them both. (And, they BOTH make serious art.) When you meet Wynne, you would never guess she is an "Important Artist"; she's just that cute, funny girl with the wicked grin and a droll sense of humor. The Stranger giving her the Genius grant was one of the best/smartest things they've ever done...though, I fear her grant will prevent her from working at SIFF this year.

Check'em BOTH out.

The Unexamined Life...

2009-04-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me last night after meeting a cute, humpy Columbian, that the only men who seem to be attracted to me are either bisexual or foreign born...gay, American men; not so much.

To find a longterm mate, I may have to hang out at the overseas airline terminal, start cruising polyamorous groups, or move to South America or India...

Tonite on Lost: Some Like It Hoth

2009-04-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley when he's asked to deliver an important package to a top Dharma official.

Written by Melinda Hsu Taylor & Greggory Nations
Directed by Jack Bender

Guest List
Francois Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang
Marsha Thomason as Naomi Dorrit
Doug Hutchinson as Horace Goodspeed
Patrick Fischler as Phil
Jon Gries as Roger Linus
Eric Lange as Radzinsky
Leslie Ishii as Lara
Brad William Henke as Bram
Dean Norris as Howard Gray
Tim DeZam as Trevor
Lance Ho as young Miles
Linda Rose Herman as Evelyn

First of all, last week's episode, "Dead is Dead" was incredible and proof that Ben-centric episodes are always well worth your time. Any episode that features a new and improved Zombie Kickass John Locke, Revenge O'Daughter/Smoke Ghost Alex and the revelation that the Island expects Ben to be Locke's Bitch is an A-OK episode in my book. Definitely the best episode of the season so far.

Now, on to tonite's episode, the dorkily named "Some Like it Hoth". Of course the fanboys are going nuts because of the Star Wars reference, but no one seems to be picking up on the equally visible reference to Billy Wilder's classic gender bendering movie, Some Like It Hot...perhaps we're going to see someone in drag, or is it referring to the fact the Losties in Dharmaville ARE in disguise as hippie dippie Dharmavillians and pretending to be something they are not?

Also, tonite is the first Miles-centric episode so maybe we'll get some background on the smart-mouthed ghost listener, like is he really the son of Pierre Chang or is everyone jumping to conclusions just because the characters are Asian, and all
Asian characters on TV shows MUST be related to one another, right?

Oh, and it looks like this will be a lighter episode with a lot of Hurley and Miles banter as they undergo a journey involving a stinky corpse on the backroads of the Island...and there WILL be at least one fart joke.

Lost is off next week, (I think there will be a clip show, though) and will be back in two weeks with the eagerly awaited, The Constant, the 100th hour of the show and one devoted to the missing Daniel and what he's been doing on the Island for the last three years...the promos are promising there will be lots of answers to many of the mysteries of the Island.

And the rumors swirling around about the season ending 2 hour episode (titled "The Incident") are pretty crazy, most of them involving some combination of time travel INTO THE FUTURE and the presence of various Lost kiddies (Aaron, Ji-Yeon, Clementine, Walt) as adults and our current Losties as senior citizens. I've seen at least a dozen different possible endings, all involving at least one of those scenarioes and to be honest, I think they all smell of fakery and subterfuge.

But, I bet Walt IS involved somehow...he's played a part in every season ending episode so far, and I bet Penny Widmore will be around, too...she's also been featured in all the season enders since she first appeared in Season Two...we'll have to see....

Namaste, for now.

Marilyn Chambers: Dead at 56

2009-04-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

First it was Jack Wrangler biting the big one last week and now it's ex-Ivory Snow cover model and X-rated porn queen Marilyn Chambers's turn to enter the Big Porn Movie Shoot in the sky...if these things come in threes, then someone needs to go check on Seka and Jamie Gillis and Veronica Hart...make sure that none of them haven't choked to death on a Spam sandwich or something similarly sinister and sad.

A toast to Marilyn Chambers.

Elswinger/Larry Davenport passes away at age 45.

2009-04-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Stranger's Slog notified its readers last Friday night that frequent commenter, Elswinger passed away last Wednesday after a long battle with various medical issues. Elswinger also chronicled his battles with his health and the health care bureaucracy in his blog, Elswinger's World. It's a fascinating, moving, funny and heart breaking account of his life over the last few months...in the past, I would check it out every so often to see what he'd written, but I had a difficult time reading it on a regular basis due to its depressing subject matter, but after his death, I felt compelled to read it all, and I'm glad I did. It's a tough read, but I encourage everyone to read it, if only to honor the man who wrote it, but it'll also toughen your resolve to demand that this country make some drastic changes in its' healthcare system.

Also, Larry could be very funny. The section where he is blogging while he is high, is both poignant and comedic. Yes, it IS a laugh and cry moment but not in a Robin Williams movie sort of way...

A public memorial to Larry will be held this coming Saturday, April 18th from 5pm to 8pm at the Six Arms on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

A toast to Larry "Elswinger" Davenport.

Happy Good Friday and Happy Easter!

2009-04-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Club Promoter/Actor/Musician Mario Diaz is my secret love...could he be any cuter?

Then, by Arbus...and Now, Superstar

2009-04-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Then.
Now.

Appeciation of Photography 101

2009-04-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Then and Now.

Today in my Life: Benefits get Cut!

2009-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Because unemployment taxes have doubled in the last 6 months, my company had to cut all benefits except for health and dental insurance...

Yikes.

Tonite on Lost: Dead is Dead

2009-04-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
BEN ATTEMPTS TO SUMMON THE SMOKE MONSTER IN ORDER TO BE JUDGED FOR SINS OF THE PAST

Written by Brian K. Vaughan & Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by Stephen Williams

Guest List
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Tania Raymonde as Alex
Sonya Walger as Penelope “Penny” Widmore
Alan Dale as Charles Widmore
Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus
Sterling Beaumon as young Ben
Zuleikha Robinson as Llana
Said Taghmaoui as Caesar
Melissa Farman as young Danielle Rousseau
Brad William Henke as Bram
Matt Hoffman as Jed

I'm stupidly excited for tonite's episode of Lost because IT'S A BEN-CENTRIC EPISODE!!!

Wow...I think I wet my pants there.

sorry, for getting carried away, but Ben episodes are always good episodes because Ben is the best character on the show thanks to the writing of the character and the excellent acting of Michael Emerson. And, judging by the previews, we're also going to get our first view of the inside of The Temple!

And Smokey!

And little Ben! (and isn't it odd that Little Ben will be in the Temple in 1977 at the same time that Big Ben is in the Temple in 2007? Interesting...)

And Manliner wearing Eternal Studmuffin and possibly Cuban-Egyptian Love God, Richard Alpert wearing his trademark natty shirt and crisp khaki pants! And, looking at the Guest Cast we're also going to see flashbacks with young Danielle, dead daughter Alex and that British bit of fluff known as Penny Widmore, her dreary Scotch husband Desmond and her menacing but hot pepaw Charles Widmore!

and, uh, some guy named Bram!

me so excited...

image of Big Ben/Little Ben come from darkufo.blogspot.com

Quentin Tarantino worships at the altar of Junk Cinema.

2009-04-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

He pays hommage, or rips off, depending on your viewpoint, the genres common to exploitation cinema of the last 50 years; gangsters and crime noir, kung-fu, black and sexploitation, gore, violence, smut, big guns, fast cars etc. The films he reveres and apes were short, fast little programmers usually destined for double bills at drive-ins and secondary theaters. They were junk, frequently very entertaining junk, but junk nonetheless.

And they were short. Most films of this type ran 70 to 90 minutes long, seldom much longer because they were designed to be shown on a multiple bill with one or two other similarly themed and timed films. These films work, as entertainment and ocassionally art, because of their brevity. They get in and get the job done and get the hell out.

Tarantino's next film, Inglourious Basterds, his remake/reimagining of a cheap 70's WWII film by director Enzo Castellari, (sidenote: a contemporary of my beloved gay porn iconic director Joe Gage; Gage, under his real name of Tim Kincaid and Castellari co-directed Sinbad of the Seven Seas together). It's Tarantino's first war film but it features a strong revenge theme; a band of Jewish American soldiers kicking Nazi ass towards the end of the war. Tarantino has a big star, Brad Pitt, and his usually large cast of eclectic actors including The Office's BJ Novak, Mike Myers, Cloris Leachman, director Eli Roth and old timer Rod Taylor, from Hitchcock's The Birds. It sounds like a potentially great movie or at the very least a stupid, fun movie in the Tarantino vein. It opens at Cannes in May, and wide release in August.

The downside: it's been leaked recently that the movie runs 2 hours and 45 minutes long. The original was 99 minutes long. So in other words, the same thing that lessened the experiences of watching Kill Bill and Grindhouse are coming into play again with Tarantino's next movie...the stupid motherfucker wants to remake fun, trashy, SHORT, exploitation films but blow them up into some long, dumb, dialogue heavy Tarantino extravaganzas. There was no need for Kill Bill to be divided into two films and Grindhouse might have worked if each part had been no more than an hour long. The man has such a massively huge ego, he's letting it get in the way of making great cinema and the result is overlong, self-indulgent crap. And maybe Basterds is brilliant, (and I hope so), but frankly very, very, very few movies need to be, or deserve to be 2 fucking hours and 45 fucking minutes long...

And the deliberate misspelling of the title is a bit precious.

The image is of the original film's movie poster...obviously

The modern equivalent of Tijuana Bibles...

2009-04-08T12:13:00.001-07:00

seems to be websites (obviously, NOT very safe for work, or life that matter)devoted to porn images of beloved and iconic cartoon characters from shows like The Simpsons, Futurama, King of the Hill, and Family Guy doing unspeakable things.

Do some people really get off on this, or is it all just for a dirty little chuckle?

It's mildly amusing at best, but frequently it's pretty gross and disturbing; lots of images of Bart fucking Lisa...the incest theme and bestiality appear to be popular themes here.

Is this just an outgrowth of the whole slash fiction and furry movements? People seem to really enjoy fantasizing about fucking the famous, either the real or the fictive, or actually having sex with someone dressed up as some sort of creature.

Personally, I think my biggest kink in THAT department would be swarthy Latins/Greeks in chitons and togas...or maybe Men in Tights...

And, Zoidberg WISHES he had a body that cut and buff...

Beating the Dead Book Horse...

2009-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

I just thought of something in regard to the discussion about indie bookstores versus the corporate monster bookstores...everyone engaged in this discussion probably buys at least 75% of their books at HalfPrice Books or a similar used bookstore which deprives indie AND corporate booksellers, publishers and authors of any money.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. As a book lover, if I can buy 10 used books for the price of ONE new book, I'm going to go for the big bargain...like MOST book lovers with limited means, which today means pretty much everybody...

More Bookstore Chat....

2009-04-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

I got reamed a bit on Paul Constant's post, so I just HAD to respond, (no, I don't know when to quit and yes, I have a big mouth...DUH!)

oh, give me a fuckin' break.

yes, I loooooove good indie bookstores but this notion that every town and neighborhood in America was once dotted with hardwood floored, exposed brick, indirectly lit, cinnamon/patchouli scented, cheery little indie bookstores lovingly stocked and run by bookloving hippies with grey ponytails and happy librarian-type ladies is so much bullshit. For one thing, those kinds of stores have ALWAYS been the exception, not the norm and 90% of them came into existence in the late 60's and early 70's founded by book loving, arty/litty, hippie types; they're a fairly recent thing. You found/find them in college towns, arty resort towns, and bohemian neighborhoods in large cities but not in the vast majority of America. The greatest number of indie booksellers in this country were small glorified newstands/stationary/card stores...they had a long wall of magazines, a small room or area of kid lit (maybe), quite a lot of space devoted to cards and gifts and racks and racks of mass-market, popular paperbacks...there wasn't much devoted to non-fiction or serious literature and most of those stores were very suspicious of hardbacks and trade sized books. When you've been reading about the 200 or 300 or 400 indie bookstores that close every year for the last 25 years, the majority of the stores closing, were those kinds of stores, and yes, it is sad when ANY kind of bookstore closes, but these weren't the kinds of bookstores that y'all revere. And yes, the big guys are largely responsible for their demise which is sad but does it make the big guys evil by their mere presence? No, it doesn't. The advent of the chains meant that millions of people had access to a much wider variety of books than ever before, especially people that live outside of liberal, arty areas and the urban core. That's a good thing. The big stores like B&N and Borders that really started to grow in the 90's exposed people to an even larger inventory; they have history sections that are larger than many neighborhood indie stores! Does that mean I don't still shop at indie stores? Of course not. I love having a bookstore in my neighborhood, locally owned and operated by an owner who loves books. But if Michael at BaileyCoy doesn't have a book I really, really want and I know I can get that book downtown at Borders, I'm going to go buy it at Borders and not wait the two weeks it would take if I ordered it at BaileyCoy. And for folks in the sticks; the Pocatellos and Topekas and Amarillos of the world, their local big bookseller is the only option they have and to be honest, probably the best option they've ever had.

(as for the big chains having a negative impact on publishing, that's a different kettle of stinky fish...but most chains can have some kind of negative impact on their suppliers which leads to standardization and blandness in everything from fashion to home decor...)

(and as for the loving attentions of indie bookstore clerks, that's also a lot of horseshit...for every nice, knowledgible, helpful clerk I've met 4 that were either irritating, hipster jerks or idiots that didn't know what they were doing...like in most retail stores...book retailing is NOT a sacred brother/sisterhood)

Gay Porn Legend Jack Wrangler: Dead at 62

2009-04-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Advocate is reporting that legendary gay porn icon, Jack Wrangler has died at 62 from lung cancer. Wrangler was recently the star of a documentary, "Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon" which looked back on his career as the first gay porn superstar, his transition to straight porn and his surprising marriage to the much older singer Margaret Whiting. And, I feel his death warrants me to publish this full frontal nude shot of him...it would be disrespectful to NOT pay hommage to that beautiful body...it is, after all, what helped make him a Star.

A toast to Jack Wrangler.

Paul Constant has a post on SLOG bemoaning the loss of indie bookstores.

2009-04-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

It kind of irked me so I wrote a HUGE comment in reply to that original post, but it's far too long to post there, so I'm posting it here:

ya know, it IS kind of sad when big chains kill off locally owned independent book stores, but why should books be any different than any other commodity? Why is it a greater day for mourning when your local "Book Nook" is forced to close than when it's "Barney's Friendly Hardware" or "Appleoff Family Appliance"? Is the corporate commercialization of certain kinds of businesses taboo because those businesses are cute and beloved?

That's kind of silly.

We live in a capitalist society where the goal is to make increasing large amounts of profit. That's both a good and a bad thing but the alternatives are totalitarianism and socialism. Socialism has some advantages, but it's not perfect, and is it really the responsibility of a socialist government to financially support heartfelt businesses like indie bookstores, because they make us feel warm and fuzzy on the inside?

uh, no.

And the chain bookstores ARE kind of soulless but as a kid growing up in a small town Midwest town, my local book buying was confined to what they had at the local Pamida (a regional, rinky-dink version of Walmart) in their tiny book section, or what was on those wire display units at the local pharmacies. If I wanted to go to a real bookstore, my choices were a Waldenbooks or a B. Dalton in the nearest "big" cities of St Joe, Missouri or Topeka, Kansas...and you know what, thank god for those chain bookstores. And, both Topeka and St Joe had indie bookstores, but they weren't that great...lots of popular paperbacks, magazines and large Christian sections...they weren't the twee, wood floored, coffee scented enclaves of knowledge and wonderment presided over by quaint, loving bibliophiles...it seems like they were usually run by prune-faced, overweight matrons or dim-witted teens that weren't that knowledgable or willing to recommend a regional literary delight. And it seems like the majority of clerks in chain bookstores are booklovers themselves, happy to recommend good books they've encountered and more than willing to promote unsung authors. And, if anyone thinks that the demise of any of the big book chains is going to be GOOD for booklovers, and that the indie bookstore is going to make some sort of huge comeback, I think you're deluding yourselves. Books have awful profit margins, retail is a bitch and the result is going to be fewer bookstores, both chain and indie, and people not going to have the option to personally buy ANY books inside a bricks and mortar store...and that sucks

It's about time the Justice Department did something about this national nightmare:

2009-04-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

From Google News:

Justice Department pursuing restraining order against Lohan and the family of ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson...
New York Daily News - ‎6 hours ago‎
By Korin Miller Lindsay Lohan is publicly showing restraint in her split from Samantha Ronson. And it may be because she has to. Ronson's family is pursuing a restraining order against the "Mean Girls" star, according to several reports. And in a surprising move, the United States Department of Justice announced that in order to protect US citizens against further involvement in the irritating tabloid fueled lives of Lohan, Ronson and their respective celebrity-seeking families, they were pursuing filing a national restraining order against all members of both families in an effort to remove them from the public forum. “We think it would be in the best interest of the American public, if the Lohan and Ronson families were barred from any contact with any US citizen at anytime, regardless if it’s in person or on the pages of tabloid newspapers or on the many infortainment television and internet programs currently broadcast in this country, “ Attorney General Eric Holder announced in a news conference yesterday. He further added, “ We are co-operating with the INS to see if it’s possible to have all members of both families deported from the US and barred from appearing in any media broadcast into this country, including the construction of an internet firewall prohibiting offshore websites from transmitting their horrific visages and antics into North America. The INS is currently involved in delicate negotiations with the African nation of Malawi to see it that nation could be persuaded to take these talentless and emotionally draining families off the hands of the United States government and its citizens.”
Lindsay Lohan's Dad on Ronson Breakup: 'Thank God, my daughters not a dyke' ABC News
Lindsay Lohan Confirms Split From Samantha Ronson: ’I already miss her muffinhole of love’ MTV.com
E! Online - msnbc.com - Los Angeles Times - TMZ.com
all 723 news articles »

My Guilty Pleasure DILF of the Day and My New Favorite Website

2009-04-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

yes, yes, I know...Harvey Levin, creator/producer/presenter of TMZ, the sleazy, celebrity gossip website/tv show is the scum of the earth and the chicken of the sea. He's rude, obnoxious, pushy, vulgar and the worst kind of characterture: a predatory gay, Jewish, lawyer, Hollywood sleazeball, gossip reporter who's reportedly a bastard to work for and directly responsible for the downfall of Western Civilisation, blah, blah, blah...

He's also kind of hot.

Hey, some of us are turned on by chutzpah, dark hair, and a front-tooth gap and the ability to look sexy in business casual while constantly sipping from a sippy cup. And he gets props for being in the public eye and out of the closet.

Oh, and on a related note, My New Favorite Website is www.leavethesepeoplealone.org which is a pretty funny hate site devoted to ripping on TMZ and it's douchy tactics and even douchier on-air "reporters" in particular this guy, Max Hodges,otherwise known as the dimwitted, blond surfer dude who seems to get the most airtime on the tv show. WebMaster Gus, who created the site, seems to have it in for this slack-jawed, himbo in particular, (most of the site is dedicated to trashing Max) but he also goes after the other "reporters" on the show and since TMZ doesn't identify anyone by name, Gus has come up with some pretty funny nick-names for the cast...I especially like "Chubby Spikey" and "Chubby Ballcap" for the two chubby schlubbs on the show and the difficulty in telling them apart...Oddly, Gus doesn't do that much ripping on Harvey himself, the guy ultimately responsible for this daily travesty of journalism and human degradation...Gus reserves the hate for Harvey's low-paid assmonkeys whose days in the glare of The Celebrity Sun will be fleeting and not very satisfying creatively or financially...well, except for Max who's the type who'll land on his feline like surfer feet...as long as he doesn't get fat and ugly.

Check it out.

To continue the theme of Italy...my favorite Memaw, Erminia Motika!

2009-04-07T09:45:00.001-07:00

Who is Erminia Motika? She's the mother of beloved, Italian TV chef Lidia Bastianich, star of PBS/Create's cooking show, "Lidia's Italy", which is one of my new tv addictions since we upgraded to a digital tv converter box. Lidia is my favorite tv chef of all time; she's warm, and smart, and delightful and she makes everything look so easy! AND, she peppers her speech with endearing terms in Italian and takes us on tours of her favorite parts of Italy where she always visits the local market and manhandles all the produce! Lidia frequently features family members on her show, including her kids and grandkids, but best of all, she periodically has her mother, Erminia Motika, on the show to help out in the kitchen and pass along her years of cooking wisdom and general adorable Italian Grandma advice. (And Lidia confusingly calls her mother, "Grandma" on the show; for a long time I thought she really was Lidia's Grandma, and I figured the woman must be 110). Grandma is like a Muppet version of Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls, all cute and snuggly like a Muppet with a hint of Sophia spice, (but none of Sophia's bitchy meanness). Grandma loves her sweets and it's pure delight when she goes to town on a piece of strudel or torte, and she ALWAYS wants more creme fraiche! She's so adorable you'll want to go out and get your own cute Italian granny to act as your personal kitchen prep cook...

In case you haven't figured it out, Grandma is the older lady on the left in the picture and the lovely Lidia, regal in her old school bullet bra, is on the right...and check out Lidia's show, website, and cookbooks...she has some great recipes.

Chilling images from Italy...

2009-04-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

which really hit home for those of us who live in earthquake country and can remember the last quake they were in...if not our prayers, then at least you have our hearts and minds with you, Italy.

Avete tutto il nostro amore, bella gente dell'Italia

Would someone please find Anna Faris some brilliant comedy scripts?

2009-04-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

And some brilliant comedy directors to go with them? She's a great comedienne that's usually wasted in films in small parts, or horrid scripts, or playing the "girlfriend" who ends up stealing the film from the male comedic lead who's getting paid 20 or 30 times what she's getting...she's worthy of so much more.

Here's an article about her in New York Mag.

Saucy Rupert enrages the Gay Mafia...Good for him!

2009-04-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Rupert Everett is in hot water, AGAIN, after making some bold statements and sharing his opinions on gay marriage, gay child-rearing and the state of the Gay Rights Movement. Here's a quote from this interview, conducted by Kevin Sessums for The Daily Beast, which I got from Towleroad:

Here's what he has to say about gays who want to be parents:

"I think this surrogacy thing is crap. It is utterly hideous. I think it’s egocentric and vain. And these endless IVF treatments people go through. I mean, if you are meant to have babies then great. But this whole idea of two gay guys filling a cocktail shaker with their sperm and impregnating some grim lesbian and then it gets cut out is just really weird. If I did have the impulse to be a parent, I would adopt—or foster. But this whole thing of forcing the idea of parenthood on us gay men is so bogus. Marriage? Babies? Please. I want to be illegal. I want to live outside the mainstream."

Everett believes his wish to be outside of the mainstream puts him "ahead of the curve."

"These awful middle-class queens—which is what the gay movement has become—are so tiresome. It’s all Abercrombie & Fitch and strollers. Everybody has the right to do what they want to do, but still..."

Naturally, the gay press and mainstream members of the queer community are up in arms about this...the tone of the Towleroad post, Dan Savage's repost on Slog, and many of the comments being posted are largely negative, with the general consensus that Everett should just shut up and that he's a tired, bitter, old queen.

Equally naturally, I have to agree with (most) of what Rupert Everett had to say, and so did a few other people on the comments threads. Here's what I had to say on Slog:

no, no he doesn't...I appreciate his candor and the fact he's not afraid to state his opinion even if it's going to be a politically incorrect opinion.

And his comment about the mainstreaming of the gay movement, is sort of dead-on...it HAS become all "Abercrombie & Fitch and strollers" and a desire to ape middle class, heteronormitive society, which is fine for some and we SHOULD have the same rights as everyone else, but all traces of sexuality are being removed from the homosexual rights movement because it upsets the straights, and because aping the straights makes some homosexuals feel better about their "lifestyle choice".

and, here's what my big mouth had to say on Towleroad:

bravo to Rupert Everett for being brave enough to state HIS opinion, even if it's a politically incorrect one. The gay rights movement HAS become bland and dedicated to the notion we want to be just like the straights...all traces of SEXUALITY have been removed. Yes, we SHOULD have the same rights as everyone else, but that doesn't mean we have to take advantage of those rights if we don't want to. Embracing the heteronormitive lifestyle is great for some people, but it shouldn't be expected that we should all fall into line and live "respectible" lifestyles. I might want the RIGHT to have a husband and a baby and a Suburu and a white picket fence in front of my suburban tract house but that doesn't mean I should feel forced to excise that right.

I get really irked when people get told to shut up for stating their opinion, if their opinion goes against the status quo, and for being a celebrity for stating their opinion...just because ANY celebrity gives an opinion, doesn't mean you have to listen to it, but they have the right, just like anyone else to give it. And anyone with the balls of a Rupert Everett; renaissance man, actor, writer, admitted rentboy, one of the first out actors in the world, can say WHATEVER the fuck he wants.

Art I really, really love: Kate Pfeiffer

2009-04-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

Her attention to detail is amazing and technically, it's very, very difficult to pull off. She's really young; just graduated from college. Here is her bio:

Kate Pfeiffer graduated from the Rhode Island school of Design in 2008. She has a BFA in Illustration with a concentration in English.

Kate currently resides in her beloved home-state of Wisconsin. When she's not painting, Kate enjoys coaching, volleyball, running, rock climbing, and eating tomatoes. Kate also likes striped clothing, has an affinity for dry humor, and falls asleep almost instantly on planes.

If you wish to comission a piece or purchase a piece on this website, please contact Kate

Check out her website: http://www.gallerykate.com/Index.html Oh, and I first discovered her work at Juxtapoz.

FINALLY!!!

2009-04-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung; doesn't it feel great? And, everyone's walking around with a big ole smile on their face, even those of us trapped in our offices and jobs. (I've already had 4 smoke breaks today, and it's only 12.30...).

And, we had our first apartment complex bbq in our courtyard last night...it was heavenly...delicious barbecued chicken and burgers and brats...vodka gimlets...warm breezes...

ahhhhhhhhh......

now, to get my big, fat, white butt to a beach.

oh, and to check out the frontside of the guy in the photo, go HERE. He's nude but not erect, so it's NSFW but not hardcore NSFW...

Tonite on Lost: Whatever Happened, Happened

2009-04-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
LOST - "Whatever Happened, Happened" - Kate goes to extreme measures to save (young)Ben's life when Jack refuses to help. Meanwhile, Kate begins to tell the truth about the lie in order to protect Aaron, on "Lost," WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Guest List
Guest starring are Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Kim Dickens as Cassidy, Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed, Susan Duerden as Carol Littleton, Sterling Beaumon as young Ben, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Jon Gries as Roger Linus, William Blanchett as Aaron, Sebastian Siegel as Erik, Candace Scholz as Debra, Susan King as sweet young woman, Miko Franconi as grocery worker, Scott Moura as manager and Olivia Vickery as Clementine.

Oh, joy, a freaking Kate episode immediately after last week's bland Sayid outing...I really don't care that much about the the original cast anymore, esp the schizoid misanthrope Kate ("I love Jack! No, I love Sawyer! Wait, I love them BOTH!!!!!")...I want less of them and more explainations about life in DharmaLand, esp what's up with Doctor Pierre Chang and the construction of all those Dharma stations; I don't need any more installments of Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet Love Quadrangle and frankly, I could care less if Sayid lives or dies, (though I would have loved to have seen the look on Naveen Andrews face when they told him Sayid was going to deliberately shoot a 12 year old boy in the chest because he was going to grow up to be evil...)

Well, at least we have an appearance by Richard Alpert and his Manliner and it looks like we get a break from the irritating Radzinsky...and it's not too difficult to figure out what's going to happen in tonite's episode, just based on the Guest List...obviously we're going to find out what happened to Aaron, (looks like he's going to meet his Ozzie Grandma) and we find out what it was Sawyer whispered to Kate before jumping out of the helicopter last year, ("check up on my old girlfriend and illegetimate daughter, would you Freckles?")

Hopefully, it'll end up being good but I'm more looking forward to next weeks episode, "Dead is Dead". Here is the official ABC synopsis for THAT:

Synopsis
BEN ATTEMPTS TO SUMMON THE SMOKE MONSTER IN ORDER TO BE JUDGED FOR SINS OF THE PAST

And, the cast list includes appearances from Penny, dead daughter Alex and young Rousseau so hopefully we'll find out if Ben tried to kill Penny before getting on the Ajira flight and how did Ben get custody of Alex in the first place. AND, it sounds like we'll see ole Smokey!

Andy Hallett/Angel's Lorne: Dead at 33

2009-03-31T16:02:00.001-07:00

One of the sweeter elements on a very dark show, Hallett is the the second Angel actor to die young. Glenn Quinn who played Doyle, died from drug related causes in 2002. And 33 is waaaaaay too young to die.

So, a toast to Andy Hallett.

And in a Buffy/Angel/Whedonverse Circle of Life coincidence, Alyson Hannigan/Willow and Alexis Denisof/Wesley had a daughter they named Satyana last week.

What a horrid name...

Irving R Levine: Dead at 86

2009-03-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

A toast to the nattiest reporter who ever lived...they don't make them like that anymore.

Sick...again, which explains my lack of posting...

2009-03-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

I don't think this climate agrees with me...I've been sick constantly this winter...either that, or I'm getting old and failing at an alarmingly fast rate. I guess this means I should get myself a flu shot next fall and then it's a hop/skip/jump to the senior menu at Old Country Buffet...

The only good thing about being sick is that it gives you a logical excuse to:

1)be lazy

2)eat "bad" processed foods that you are normally too embarassed to buy...like SnackPack Chocolate Pudding and Hostess Ding-Dongs, which are delicious when you feel like shit.

Other than this, nothing new to report in gray, cold, damp Seattle.

Yes, I am bitter.

It's been awhile since we've had any beefcake...

2009-03-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

you can check out more of the same here...maybe it's time to visit Austin.

Tonite on Lost: Namaste

2009-03-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
Sawyer is forced to perpetuate his lie when some old friends drop in unannounced

Guest List
Guest starring are John Terry as Christian Shephard, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Francois Chau as Dr. Marvin Candle, Said Taghmaoui as Caesar, Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana, Reiko Aylesworth as Amy, Sterling Beaumon as young Ben, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Molly McGivern as Rosie, Eric Lange as Radzinsky, Dan Gauthier as co-pilot and Sven Lindstrom as photographer.

Young Ben!

Dr Marvin Candle!

Christian Shephard!

And Sawyer had better not hook back up with that Debbil Woman, Kate...I hate her now.

And, judging by the photo, it looks like we find out why we saw Ben unconscious after the Ajira plane landed: Sun apparently beats the shit out of him!!

Kill it, before it breeds...

2009-03-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

(And by IT, I mean a Queerfest celebration, not Mark "Mom" Finley...I never advocate the death of anyone, especially a local gay icon whose column used to be the best thing in the Seattle Gay News...but I digress.)

The morons are at it again...some Capitol Hill clowns are trying to drum up support for another Hill based Pride event...the last time they tried to do this, it destroyed the LGBT Center, (yes, I'm bitter). Bill W has the story HERE at his Seattle Gay Scene blog.

I would fully support someone doing this, if I knew:

1)They had sufficient funding to pull it off, (which in this economic climate, I doubt),

and,

2)They have a strong arts element to the festival with emphasis on queer art, music, theatre...not just Dykes on Bikes, braying drag queens and a performance by one of the gay choirs...that's old and tired. There are dozens of painters, sculpters, dancers, musicians, writers and actors in this town and they are NEVER featured at Pride events because either no one asks them AND even if they were asked, most of them don't want to be associated with the usual lameness that IS the normal pride event.

Would YOU want to be on the same bill with Mark Mom Finley and Aleksa Manila?

The Bitches are coming back to town...

2009-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Trannyshack, the San Francisco based punk drag performance group returns to Seattle on Saturday, April 18th at Chop Suey for one night only. Doors open at 9.30pm and the show starts at 11pm with a $12 cover. Trannyshack is NOT your grandma's drag show; at Trannyshack you're more likely to hear a queen sing a live cover of Nirvana's Lithium instead of the more usual lipsyncings to Madonna or Mariah Carey type pop/crap.

And, if you stand in the front, you're likely to get covered in some sort of stage gore...prop blood, or melons, or drinks or poutine or something equally gooey and disgusting...you've been warned.

Poutine Hangover

2009-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I had dinner at Smith last night, and it was very tasty but I'm feeling the pain today. Poutine, beer and pulled pork sandwiches are not a healthy meal for an overweight, non-exercising fortysomething year old man. And, as always, I was annoyed that a simple pub grub type meal, for two, came to $42. The price you pay for hipness in Seattle is exorbitant. (OT: Blogger spellcheck didn't recognize the words "poutine" or "exorbitant"....they need to improve their dictionary.)

It was also an enjoyable people watching experience...there was a table of modestly drunken people that would periodically burst into karaoke moments with the jukebox, a couple of gays, one of whom looked like a yupped up, pumped up Andy Dick, (nerdy face and a major gym built body) and what looked like a middle aged MTF tranny trying to pick up a girl young enough to be her daughter...but I could be mistaken because I spent part of the weekend reading Jonathan Ames and his work and sex life are frequently obsessed with the transgendered so I might have trannies on the brain. And, the alleged trannie in question looked a bit like Germaine Greer...
I also rented the newest Futurama direct to video movie, (and like the preceeding 4, it just wasn't that good) and the last disc of Season 1 of Mad Men and I naturally had to watch all four episodes on the disc so I ended up staying up to 1.30 am and as a result, I'm not at my optimal freshness and perkiness.

Oh, and I ate some very rich chocolate cake at home as well last night, so technically I have a poutine/chocolate cake/Mad Men Marathon Hangover...

Local Media Madness

2009-03-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

1)Josh Feit ex of The Stranger has a new political blog called Publicola, which sounds disturbingly like Pubic Cola...I haven't looked at it enough to render any sort of judgement of it's writing or reporting, but I will pass judgement on the fact that it's ugly as sin and poorly designed...

2)And world's cutest former Stranger intern Steven Blum has Twittered that he'll soon be writing a column for Publicola...no word on when it will start...(note to Steven: less fucking Twittering and more Blogging!)

I, prophesy...(or is it prophesize?)

2009-03-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

that the Republicans are going to make a push for the scheduled minimum wage increase, from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour that is scheduled to take effect July 24th of this year, to be cancelled or at least postponed due to the economic crisis.

And, some dunderhead will blame said economic crisis on the fact that the Democrats pushed through the original minimum wage increase bill and never mind the fact that it was Wall Street and the banking industry which caused this mess. Undoubtedly, the banks went haywire because they were forced to pay their tellers .75 cents more per hour...

Futile Efforts at being up-to-date: The Music Edition

2009-03-13T16:19:00.001-07:00

One of the benefits of YouTube is the ability to sample large amounts of music that you would normally not want or bother to listen to. (Yes, I ended that sentence with a proposition...move on.) Like many people over the age of 40, I've stopped making any effort to keep up with popular music; you just reach a certain point when you don't care because it all sounds like rubbish anyway. But, occassionally you do feel compelled to check out what the youngin's are listening to, so I just spent half an hour catching up with Coldplay, the enormously popular British band fronted by Mr Gwyneth Paltrow, aka, the rather cute but scrawny, Chris Martin. My overall impression: pleasant, bland art pop music, but inexplicably popular because it sounds like a thousand other bands formed by dissatisfied, fey, young art school dropouts.

And the chord changes were as skimpy as Mr Martin's wrists.

Yes, but are they going to do a lot of drugs and get drunk and be un-PC?

2009-03-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Pigs are flying...a pilot for an Americanized Ab-Fab starring Kristen Johnson, as Patsy and someone named Kathryn Hahn as Eddy is currently filming after years of attempts, including one by Roseanne Barr/Arnold...Jezebel has a look at the script...it doesn't sound very funny and replacing Bubble with a sensible, African American woman is just silly; the only "normal" character should be Saffy, (but, she has issues as well). I love Kristen Johnson and she might be ok as Patsy, (even though she's a bit too young for the part and a little too ballsy) but Hahn is waaaay too young and thin to be a credible Eddy, and is she even a comedian? You need someone with a lot of comedy skills to fill Jennifer Saunders shoes and she has to be willing to be unlikeable to pull off this part.

And, I'm guessing that the drugging is going to be cut waaaaay back...no shots of Patsy with coke boogers.

Tonite on Lost: NOTHING!!!

2009-03-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

There's no new episode of Lost tonite so I'm going to have to make do with a new episode of The Tyra Banks Crazyass Model Show...it's not the same.

oh, and many Lost fans are wondering whatever happened to Olivia Goodspeed...she didn't appear in last week's episode and since she appeared in the previous Goodspeed episode, "The Man Behind the Curtain" and was identified as Horace Goodspeed's wife in the closed captions, AND Team Darlton, the Lost producers have publicly stated that the Goodspeed's story was an important part of the show and future episodes in podcasts from a year ago, it seemed a little strange there wasn't any sign or mention of the character in LeFleur, last week's episode. Instead, we were introduced to a new character, Amy, who was shown giving birth to Horace's son.

I don't think there is a big mystery here, and I'm assuming that we're going to get some sort of explanation to Olivia's fate in an upcoming episode, but I think it all boils down to the fact that it appears that actress Samantha Mathis who played Olivia in "The Man Behind the Curtain" wasn't availbable to reprise her role. The actress just opened a play on Broadway last week, Moises Kaufman's 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda. Obviously, rehersals for this play would have started at the first of the year making Mathis unavailable for filming in Hawaii. And according to IMDB, she's had some recent film work as well, so she was probably unavailable last fall when Lost began shooting this season. I was always a little surprised that they had cast Mathis in the first place; while not a major star, she does work regularly in films and major tv projects. It seemed ill-advised to cast her in the first place...

Next week's episode: Namaste featuring the return of young Ben, (Sterling Beaumon)for at least 4 episodes.

And, spoiler alert, Lost has been reportedly casting for actors to portray Sawyer and Kate as 10 year olds in the season finale...This is in addition to previous castings for young versions of Sayid, Daniel and maybe Miles.

What's up with all the kids? Is a Lost Babies spin-off in the works?

Oh, and a Lost fansite is claiming that one of those characters is dying this season and they have a poll:

Which one of these will be the person killed in Season 5
Ben
Sawyer
Kate
Daniel
Miles
Juliet
Jin

It had better not be Juliet!

Wicked sucks.

2009-03-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

There...I've said it. I'm your typical fag who loves musicals, and I somewhat liked the original book (but feel it's a bit overrated), and I like many of the people involved with Wicked, but the music is really shitty.

And the shittiest song in the show is the most popular song, Defying Gravity, which is an anthem for many a young, impressionable, lgbt theater-goer. It's noble sentiments fail to disguise the essential, irritating turgid crappiness of that song.

But I still love Kristin Chenowith. And, I'm still envious that Idina Menzel gets to sleep with Taye Diggs WHENEVER she wants...

the bitch.

For Musical Theater nerds only...

2009-03-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

A two year old sings Sondheim...

P.S. Assassins is one of the Great American Musicals because it's about two of America's favorite pasttimes:

guns and celebrity.

Things that make you go, HMMMMMMM.....

2009-03-06T16:06:00.001-08:00

Towleroad reports that TMZ ambushed LL Cool J at the airport and asked the actor/rapper:

Asked TMZ's pap: What if you go to a bar and get hit on by a gay guy, does that change your nickname?

Replied LL Cool J: Nah. I guess it just expands your options, huh?

I found this anecdote very interesting...I used to work with a guy who lived in L.A. circa 2001 and he told me that he encountered Mr J in a WeHo bar and that the J that Ladies Love made a pass at him. My co-worker was seeing someone at the time and somewhat relunctantly turned down the offer.

Mr J is definitely cute and has a great body, but personally, he's a little too muscley and tatty for my taste...and I'd be afraid that he'd start rapping in bed, which would be a huge turn-off for me.

And, many years ago, back in the early 80's, a guy I knew who had just previously lived in Honolulu for several years, used to tell me some very, very interesting stories about a certain popular and beloved tv/movie actor who spent a lot of time in a popular Honolulu gay bar of the period and was usually seen with pretty, Gaysian boys...I'm not naming him, because this actor has sued publications for outing him and won those lawsuits, so my lips are sealed.

It would probaly take a magnum of champagne to get me drunk enough to reveal that name...

Tonite on Lost: LaFleur

2009-03-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

Synopsis
Sawyer perpetuates a lie with some of the other island survivors in order to protect themselves from mistakes of the past

Guest List
Guest starring are Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed, Reiko Aylesworth as Amy, Christopher Jaymes as doctor, Kevin Rankin as Jerry, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Molly McGivern as Rosie, Carla Buscaglia as Heather and John Skinner as Other #1.

This appears to be a Sawyer-centric episode and it seems like the majority of the episode will cover what happened to our time-hopping Island friends, Sawyer, Miles, Daniel, Jin and Juliet after Locke "fixed" the Frozen Donkey Wheel and left the Island. And judging by the promos, it looks like Locke tyically botched the fix; he was able to stop the time jumps but he left his friends stuck in a past time that looks suspiciously like it might be sometime in the 1970's when the hippy-dippy Dharma Initiative was in control of most of the Island. And the presense of Horace Goodspeed, last scene as a bloody nosed ghost at the Purge mass grave site giving Locke a pep talk, seems to give creedance to this theory, along with episode photos featuring Sawyer in a Dharma jumpsuit and a new character Amy, (Reiko Aylesworth, around for at least 4 episodes)wearing some very hippy-dippy maternity clothes...(uh, how can she be giving birth on the Island; don't the mothers always die? Or, is that a recent thing affecting the Others?)

Lost takes a vacation next week, (no new episode) and returns in two weeks with Namaste, which is rumored to be Ben-centric mainly because the ABC officially announced cast list (which means technically that this is NOT a spoiler)includes Sterling Beaumon who played young Ben in the Season 3 episode, The Man Behind the Curtain, as well as appearances from Christian Shephard and Dr Marvin Candle...)

Here are the titles for the rest of the season, except for the season finale, (Episodes 16/17).

Episode 5.9 - Namaste: Ben-centric featuring those named above plus newbies Ilana and Caesar and Frank Lapidus...

Episode 5.10 - He's Our You: Sayid-centric, with scenes set in Russia and rumored to explain why Sayid agreed to come back to Island. Also, rumored to include scenes with a young Sayid, which seems to be a theme this season...

Episode 5.11 - Whatever Happened, Happened: rumored Kate-centric, specifically why did she come back to the Island and what happened to Aaron. Rumored to include Claire's mom, (and I'm GUESSING that maybe another ghostly visit from Claire MIGHT be in the offering; this is NOT a spoiler, only my own theory/guess!)

Episode 5.12 - Dead is Dead: unknown. Rumored to include a car crash scene set in Long Beach and believed to center around the survivors of the Ajira plane on Hydra Island.

Episode 5.13 - Some Like It Hoth: rumored to be Miles-centric including a scene with a young Miles.

Episode 5.14 - The Variable: rumored to be a followup to last season's The Constant and heavily featuring Desmond and Daniel including scenes with Daniel and his mother and more Oxford flashbacks.

Episode 5.15 - Follow The Leader: unknown/currently filming

Previously on Lost: The Life & Death of Jeremy Bentham

2009-03-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Last week on Lost we found out what happened to Locke after he "fixed" the Frozen Donkey Wheel and returned to Civilization and the episode did answer a lot of our questions, but in typical Lost fashion, it also raised a lot of questions as well...such as:

(1)Why did Ben talk Locke out of committing suicide, then proceed to strangle Locke? Was it the will of the Island that directed Ben to do this? Would a Locke death by suicide preclude him from being resurrected on the Island? Or, was Ben acting on his own impulses? Ben has already attempted to kill Locke, and it was Ben that disobeyed the Island's wishes and went ahead and moved the Island, instead of Locke as Jacob had directed...Is Ben a renegade?

(2)Why were Jack, Kate, Hurley, and probably Sayid whisked away by the white light on the Ajira flight and deposited on the Island sometime apparantly in the Dharma era of the 1970's, while Ben, Locke, Sun, pilot Frank and our new two "friends" Caesar and Ilana were not? Frank was apparently able to land the plane on the airstrip on Hydra Island and it appears that they are NOT in the same time period as the other four and it's alleged that they are in CURRENT/"Normal" time. Does this mean that the Island has special plans for Jack and Company and that Ben, Locke and Sun are out of favor?

(3)The Locke/Walt meet up was very...anti-climatic. All it seemed to establish was that Walt continues to have visions of Island life...still, it seems highly likely that we're not done with Walt...it seems ordained that at some point we have to have a big Walt/Island showdown, not to mention a tearful reunion with Vincent, the dog.

(4)Is Locke's long lost lady love, Helen (aka Peg Bundy/Leela/actress Katey Sagal) really dead? Or was that an Abbaddon/Widmore subterfuge to keep Locke on track?

(5)Kate was a real bitch to Locke in their confrontation scene, wasn't she? Her character really isn't that sympathetic.

(6)Meanwhile, Widmore seemed very sympathetic in his scene with Locke...in fact, Widmore has seemed suspiciously sympathetic in the majority of his scenes this season...are we being set up for a big twist? Is Widmore not so bad, or are we being led up to a confrontation where Widmore does something truly heinous and reveals his darkest colors? (This seems likely; the producers of the show have said that Widmore is the "Big Bad" of Lost). And, when the hell are we getting an entire Widmore flashback/backstory episode?!?!?! (Interesting note: we've never seen Widmore and his daughter Penny in a scene together.) And, if Widmore has contacts with Eloise Hawking, why doesn't she aid Widmore in getting back "his" Island? And, who the hell is Penny's mother and where was Penny born? If Widmore "had" the Island for 30 years, that would mean he would have been in control when Penny was born, which would have been circa 1970. Or, is Penny really his biological child?

So many questions...

What did we ever do without YouTube?

2009-03-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

In the last half hour I've watched recut movie trailers, Dusty Springfield and the Pet Shop Boys, and Robert Altman's Nashville featuring Ronee Blakely having a nervous breakdown at Opryland U.S.A....a potpourri of entertainment that sure does help the day go faster!

That's all I got; there's nothing going on right now that either excites me or enrages me enough to blog about it...it was either a YouTube tribute or a diatribe against people who don't trim their nose hair, (I had a horrifying experience on the bus this morning; I had to sit across from a man with obscenely long nasal foliage...which was a pity since he was kind of cute...but I digress.) Or, I could have posted a tribute to the late Paul Harvey, (didn't y'all think he was already dead? the man seemed like he was 90 when I was 10) and a misty eyed reminiscence of going home to lunch in grade school and listening to Paul Harvey on the radio while I ate my tuna salad sandwich, or if I was real lucky, a real pork tenderloin sandwich with globs of SpinBlend on it. And even at 10, Paul Harvey seemed to me like he was a rightwing douchebag asshole...

There's always a fly in the good books being turned into films ointment.

2009-02-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read any of Jonathan Ames work, then I pity you and encourage you to immediately run out and pay full price for one of his delightful books. I would probably urge you to buy/read The Extra Man, his 1998 slightly autobiographical novel about a struggling young writer, his obsessions with the trannie community and his relationship with an older man who takes the young writer on as his protege to learn the ropes of being an Extra Man, or walker, for rich, older ladies. Ames has also written several books of comic memoirs, in the vein of David Sedaris, as well as establishing himself as a raconteur/performer in the New York alternative theatre world and on television with his own special on Showtime and with numerous appearances on David Letterman. He is an all around great guy, a terrific writer and possesses a noble, muscular physique that he uses to his advantage in his alternate guise as a boxer named The Herring Wonder. I would marry him if I could.

So naturally, I was delighted when I heard that The Extra Man was being made into a movie, and that Jonathan Ames was adapting his book for the film, AND serving as an Executive Producer, (and hopefully having some control over how his work is adapted into film), AND I was even more delighted when I heard that Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcinki, the directors of one of the best films of this decade, American Splendor, were signed to co-write and direct the film, AND even more pleased to hear that Kevin Kline and Paul Dano, (he played both Sunday brothers in There Will Be Blood) were signed for the two male leads AND modestly pleased to hear that John C Reilly was going to be in it, too.

BUT,then, I heard the name "Katie Holmes" and saw a picture of America's Favorite Bearded Wife in costume for her role in The Extra Man and suddenly the air went out of my tires and I felt very, very, very tired and wanted to talk a long, long nap and hopefully wake up to find that all the Scientologists had been rounded up and sent back to Psychlo...yes, I'm being unfair, and maybe she'll be fine in the film, but really...they couldn't have found a more interesting twentysomething actress than this stick in a pair of Tom's old rolled up jeans? For that matter, there's more interesting alums from Dawson's Creek that would be better suited to a role in this film...

Microsoft circumcises their temps...orders 10% pay cuts

2009-02-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

The P.I. has the story and a very lively discussion in the comments section. If, for some reason, this sad situation was in any way related to MY life/career situation, I'm sure I would be running around my office and trying to find a P.M. or someone to clarify the situation and hopefully discover that it DIDN'T affect my career/paycheck situation because I was such a lowly gnat in the Circle of Life.

That's what I would be doing.

Pshew.

Media Meltdowns: Part XXXIV

2009-02-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

I just figured out that Defamer has been folded into Gawker...For those of you NOT in the know, Defamer was the Hollywood branch of Nick Denton's blogmedia empire that started with Gawker, the parent New York-centric, media and culture obsessed blog started by Denton a thousand years ago, er, earlier in the decade (I can't find the date it started; Wikipedia has failed me again...). While Gawker Media has prospered more than most other blog based businesses, they've still been hurt by the economic downturn. They've already sold off some of their blogs, (the very popular Wonkette), closed others and late last year announced that Defamer and Valleywag (Silicon Valley/Tech blog) were up for sale, but there were no buyers and both properties are being folded into Gawker.

This is a bummer because in it's heyday, Defamer was a very entertaining way to spend part of your workday...it was a snarky, hip take on the usual melange of frivolous Hollywood news and gossip, (call it the anti-Entertainment Tonite if you will), and reading it made you feel like a part of the Hollywood Power Elite and privy to the location of some of the real tinsel that is normally buried beneath all the fake tinsel that is your typical Hollywood based newssource.

Gawker will obviously continue to have Hollywood based stories and news, but it won't be the same...

Long Live Defamer.

Art I Hate

2009-02-25T14:56:00.001-08:00

Are we done with the Big Headed, Big Eyed Waif movement in art yet? It's been around for the last 30 to 40 years, and has really taken off in the last 10 or so thanks to several popular artists like Mark Ryden (who's very good at it) and now every other young artist seems to favor this style...well, young artists, we get it; we understand why this appeals to you...people are doll-like, or you, the artist feel doll-like and it looks cool, like a cartoon or comic, but...it's played out. Tired. Boring. Done to Death.

So...

Dear Young Artists of the World: Unless you can do something NEW and INTERESTING with this shopworn cliche, please do not add any more paintings of this ilk to the Canon of Cliche. The category is closed, for the time being.

Thank you.

The Management.

The artist here is Jennifer Springman. (Note: This is not a bad painting, just a tired style of painting...)

Dawn Dudek

2009-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

Currently Dawn continues to work on her painting series titled Filmscapes. Recently her painting 'Saving Clementine' was selected for the December 2008 exhibition at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris under the high patronage of Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic of France.

The following is a commentary written by the artist describing her filmscape paintings.

“For many years I have liked the look of film stills, and my experience in animation has made me much more aware of how the single can represent the whole.

Conceptually the series has evolved, conveying more personal interpretations of the stills.There is a now a parallel between the still in its relation to the narrative of the film and my experiences. Memories and emotions are used to create themes within the series. The selected image is abstracted from a timeline, but when isolated and reconstructed it opens itself to more diverse interpretations. The juxtaposition of personal memories on cinematic imagery is a theme that I am continuing to develop.

Deconstructing the frame into top and bottom is one of the most interesting aspects of the work. While making the subject matter more dynamic, it also represents the passage of time and more literally the film frames frozen between one and the next.”

from Dawn Dudek's website.
The top piece, Cleo wears a new hat, is very powerful to me...for some odd, unknown reason, it brought tears to my eyes and I'm not quite sure why. I don't think it's a sad piece but it is very evocative. And that big empty bed is haunting and dominates over this domestic scene.

This work, Saving Clementine, is sexy, obviously, but it's also ambivalent. It feels like a light, lusty moment in time but there's a sense of forboding here as well, like something bad is going to happen to one of these young lovers. But you're unsure of who's ultimately going to be cast as victim or victimizer.
Meeting up on a field makes me a little homesick for the Midwest...I think it's all that clear, white/blue sky...and maybe the football makes me think of high school. Or at the very least, a movie about a high school.

Doomed.

2009-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

Another gay bookstore bites the dust. West Hollywood's A Different Light has announced that it will be closing its doors by mid-April at the latest. This announcement comes only a few weeks after news that NYC's famed Oscar Wilde Bookstore was shutting its doors after 42 years in business. A Different Light will continue to operate its San Francisco branch, and on-line.

ADL's owner is blaming construction on Santa Monica Blvd and a devasting fire next door at a popular bar for the demise of the West Hollywood store, but I don't think he's being entirely honest. Queer bookstores are dying because queers don't NEED to go to a GLBT bookstore to buy queer themed books; the bigbox book stores now all have a GLBT aisle and Amazon.com means you don't even have to leave home to buy your latest erotic coffee table book or Armistead Maupin novel. And all queer bookstores relied heavily on sales of porn mags/books/media and gay tchotchkes and postcards to offset the low profit margins on books. But the problem there is, hard copy sales of porn items are declining across the board, regardless of sexuality, as people either buy these items online, go digital or make do with free imagery from the internet. And, no one sends postcards or greeting cards anymore, and the few people left who desire a rainbow flag, t-shirt, bumper sticker or necklace will either buy it online, or wait and buy it at the next Pride event they attend. Without porn and postcards, the GLBT bookstore is doomed to die.

And, it's too bad. In their day, these stores were an important community resource for news and information; a place to connect with the queer community. I think there is still a need for such places and if I had the money, I'd open one up in a heartbeat. But, I'm smart enough to realize that you just can't open a books only type of business and hope to succeed. I'd either combine books with some other kind of retail, or do a joint book/food/coffee/maybe booze type of establishment. It would be the only way to survive and thrive in our economic climate and in the way we've learned to do business.

Tonite on Lost: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

2009-02-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

Synopsis
Locke's mission off the island as Jeremy is revealed.

Guest List
Guest starring are Malcolm David Kelley as Walt, John Terry as Christian Shephard, Alan Dale as Charles Widmore, Lance Reddick as Matthew Abaddon, William Blanchett as Aaron, Said Taghmaoui as Caesar, Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana, Ammar Daraiseh as Hajer, Grisel Toledo as Susie, Stephen Scibetta as foreman and John Jamal Bradley as kid.

Please note: LOST IS RUNNING 6 MINUTES LONGER TONITE, (WILL END AT 10:O6)SO IF YOU'RE TAPING/TIVOING IT, BE PREPARED!!

John Locke has always been a character that gets on my nerves, (he's such a gawdamned idiot!) so I have some trepidation about an entire episode devoted to him, but I also have to admit that Locke-centric episodes tend to be GOOD episodes with lots of information revealed and tonite's episode looks especially promising. The promos and coming attractions have already revealed that Locke "wakes up" on the Island after presumedly being dead, (that they revealed this in the promos, is pretty shitty in my opinion), so I'm not being spoilery when I mention this. And I doubt if we find out much about Locke's post-death condition on tonite's episode, whether he'd really died back in the states and was just in a comatose state or if he did die and now exists as some post-mortem, Christian Shephard-ish, ghostly Island tour guide. I think the title of tonite's show makes it pretty clear we're going to find out what happened to Locke after he turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel and probably spend more time off Island, than on Island; after all, Locke/Bentham has a lot of ground to cover in tonite's show...

Judging by the cast list, we already know that Locke/Bentham visits Walt and it stands to reason that Charles Widmore would be interested in spending some quality time with John Locke as well, if only to compare notes, (at some point, Widmore has been forced to leave the Island). And, Lance Reddick returns as the mysterious Matthew Abaddon, a character we've only briefly and enigmatically encountered in previous episodes but according to the actor who just gave an interview with TV Guide, tonite's episode will reveal a considerable amount of information on who Abaddon is, and what role he plays in the grand scheme of things.

Also note, Caesar and Ilana return from last week's episode...Ilana was the mysterious woman that was escorting the handcuffed Sayid on flight 318 and Caesar was the only other passenger in First Class with the other Losties. Will we find out who the hell they are and most importantly, who do they work for?

And, here's my favorite quote from one of the released promo scenes:

Locke: Why are you helping me?

Someone: "Because there's a war coming, John."

Conservative Sex Scandals, Part XVII

2009-02-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't comment on it on here, but I'm sure most of you are aware of the sex scandal involving Aaron Bruns, the Fox News producer arrested last month on charges of possession of child pornography and if you're a liberal, you were probably doing the Dance of the Schaudenfreude that yet another stupid conservative type was exposed as a hypocrite.

Well, there's more to the story. Kenneth Walsh of the blog, Kenneth in the (212) has discovered that Mr Bruns has had a lot of interesting jobs that he may or may not have included on the resume he submitted when he was hired on at Fox News. Apparently, Bruns has also done some modeling, which isn't that unusual for an attractive, well-built young person interested in media-centric careers, but what is a little unusual about it, is that Bruns did nude modeling and appeared in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Supercharged Kama Sutra (Illustrated!) and the art reference book, Virtual Pose Duo: The Ultimate Visual Reference Series for Drawing the Human Figure. The Kama Sutra book doesn't feature full frontal nudity, (apparently, Idiots aren't interested in genitals) but the Pose Duo book does feature non-sexual, full-frontal nudity so it's probably NSFW at most workplaces.

Isn't it a bit ironic that Fox News has lambasted the President for not properly vetting some of his cabinet picks, when apparently Fox News doesen't do much of a background check on its own employees?

Win an Oscar and go to Disneyland...

2009-02-23T16:29:00.001-08:00

While the rest of Hollywood was either on the talkshow circuit discussing their Oscar win, or at home nursing a hangover and/or walking up to find a seat filler in bed next to them, the young cast members of Slumdog Millionaire got to go to Disneyland and celebrate with Mickey...but without leads Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto who were probably busy with the talkshows and/or lining up their next gigs.

also not pictured, Mickey Rourke who had to return his tux to the Hollywood Wax Museum and host Hugh Jackman who left for Palm Springs to rest and recuperate from his onerous hosting duties...

Real Gay Man and One Who Pretends to be Gay Win Oscars.

2009-02-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

Both Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter of Milk and Sean Penn, the star of the film, won Oscars last night and both gave moving acceptance speeches that addressed the issue of gay marriage rights, but Mr Black gets all the brownie points because he didn't fail to thank his beautiful, long suffering, "I've sacrificed my career for you, you two-timing, cheating, sumbitch!" like Mr Penn did...

Also, small children of South Asian descent are adorable and a welcome addition to the red carpet, especially if they're an aid in tripping up dimwitted red carpet interviewers like Ryan Sechrest.

And, I don't think I'm the only who left watching the Oscars last night convinced that Hugh Jackman might just be the gayest non-gay on the planet, and also wonder how long he can keep up the pretense that he's just an old-fashioned song and dance man who can't help it if everything he does on stage seems to be in distinct hommage to the man he portrayed on Broadway in The Boy From Oz, Peter Allen...

Oh, and the following:

Is Beyonce the go to person for every single gawdamned awards show?

More Tina Fey/Steve Martin partnerships, please!

I don't think the actors from Slumdog will get much of a boost from the movies success, (Frieda Pinto will end up as a second string Bond girl and Dev Patel will get some gawky, horny teen roles) but I'm thinking that composer A.R. Rahman will line up plenty of work, both in film and colloborating with other music artists...you just know that Madonna has plans to suck him dry...

and, Waltz with Bashir was robbed.

That is all.

5 Reasons to watch the Academy Awards...

2009-02-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

1)Host Hugh Jackman might accidentally fall out of his clothes.
2)I want to see Waltz with Bashir win Best Foreign Film...hopefully
3)The emotion of Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Oscar
4)The production numbers for the two nominated songs from Slumdog Millionaire might actually be entertaining.
5)All 9 of the young actors who play the three various stages of the three primary characters in Slumdog will be there. The charm of these 9 performances, (esp the youngest three) is one of the primary attributes of this sweet, but slight and overpraised film. Here's a story about the two young actors who actually are Mumbai slum dwellers preparing for their trip to Hollywood. And, here's a link to the best scene in the entire film, the big ending credits/traditional Bollywood dance number and the Oscar nominated song Jai Ho. (You might not want to watch if you haven't seen the film...)

Picture is of the youngest actors accepting their SAG Awards for best ensemble in a film, in Mumbai (all 11 principle actors got an award, but 7 of the 9 young actors didn't attend the ceremony in Los Angeles, last month.)

Does anyone care?

2009-02-18T13:38:00.001-08:00

I mean, seriously does anyone believe in all these "Angie vs Jen" covers we've seen week after week after week on the covers of the tabloids for the last, what, five years? How many times have they confronted each other, or almost confronted each other or threatened to confront each other? I really can't stand either one of them, or Brad Pitt for that matter, and I think they both are a little crazy, in the whole, everyone in Hollywood is a bit crazy/self-absorbed way, but I have my doubts that Aniston spends every waking moment agonizing over her loss of Pitt or Jolie's role in that. I mean, Aniston is kept very busy filming vapid movies, appearing on Oprah, hanging out with best buds, the Cox-Arquettes and romancing mega-talent John Mayer to have time for that kind of ca-ca, right?

Giving Republicans props when they are due...

2009-02-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

1)Gov Sarah Palin's 18 year old daughter Bristol who recently had a baby, gave an interview where she stated that telling young people to be abstinent is "not realistic at all."

2)Arch conservative leader of the Religious Right, Pat Robertson denounces asshat Rush Limbaugh for hoping President Obama fails in all his endeavors to save the economy.

3)President Bush refused to give in to Dick Cheney's persistent demands during the final weeks of the Bush Administration that Bush pardon Cheney's disgraced chief of staff, Scooter Libby.

Meanwhile, failed Republican presidential candidate Sen John McCain continues to be a complete and utter douche and an obstructionist to President Obama and his administration's attempts to save the American economy.