AKA William

Major And Amazing Upgrade

2008-11-21T07:54:00.002-05:00

Rather than drag out the site upgrades over a lengthy and tedious amount of time, I've decided to begin the upgrades today. I will be completely finished by Sunday, and when you come back here Monday morning, AKA William will be all shiny and sexy and new. It's gonna look so good here that you'll want to lick the screen. And me. And I wouldn't be mad at either.

Posting Update

2008-11-20T14:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, y'all. I am out of control over here. Some of my super amazing upgrades have caused a few . . . snafus. Nothing serious, just time consuming, which is why the postings are so erratic. But, I am soldiering on. I'm going to post the usual standards today - Bar Snacks, Lady's Brunch Burger, Politics Happy Hour, AKA What You're Looking For - but in abbreviated form. Once I get things cleaned up over here, posting will be back to normal.

Thanks for being patient . . . .

Blood Work On True Blood

2008-11-20T13:09:00.004-05:00

For more about True Blood, check out the official website.

The Blood Work boys are back talking about Episode 11 of True Blood:

Pardon my reference to the 90's nonclassic horror movie Pet Sematary, but in this week's Blood Work (much like the True Blood episode that inspired it) we learn that sometimes it's best to leave dead enough alone.

Yes, much like babyvamp Jessica, Andy has returned from the grave ... with a few noticeable differences. Join us as we discuss the penultimate episode of the ever-wacky vampire series, complete with mysterious social workers, a fresh corpse, and a big reveal months in the making.

And did you guys see that Huck Maddow's replacement the past two nights (NO, not Arianna) Alison Stewart let it slip that she loves the show? Yup.

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-20T12:43:00.006-05:00

Via Charmants: Jon Jonsson, the winner Bravo's Manhunt. This was that guy? I remember that show, but not Jon here. Maybe because he cut his hair. He's way hotter with a haircut.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Two NSFW-ish pics after the jump.

Chart Attack: Billboard News & Moves

2008-11-20T11:39:00.005-05:00

Pork here.

People! There’s hope! Just when I thought the masses were blindly following a vocoded ring leader, I am shown a chart lineup that proves me very wrong and brings waves of optimism. With her country-girl-next-door sounds and visions, Taylor Swift lassoes the top spot by moving almost 600,000 copies of her second album, Fearless. Only a mere 129,000 of those were digital which shows that people are still flocking to their local record stores . . . or departments.

Nearly 190,000 people demanded their Archuleta and got it as his debut album leaps onto the chart right behind Ms. Swift at No. 2. Atta boy, Davey.

And although T-Pain has claimed the No. 1 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album with 167,000 copies of Thr33 Ringz sold, but that only lands him the No. 4 position on The Billboard 200. Anyone who knows me knows I’m no country bumpkin, but I would choose a little twang over an auto-tuned slice of pointless hip-slop any day.

Guess what else? T.I. has the number one song in the country! Shocking, right? No. Not at all. He and Rihanna knock down another week in the top spot with “Live Your Life.” A couple steps down there is more noteworthy action. Beyonce feels the surge that sends “If I Were A Boy” to No. 3 as the weeks Sales Gainer. B also lands the No. 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song with “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” . . . so, let’s see what this Sasha Fierce can do. Was it just a rush brought on by an SNL appearance and the album’s release date? We’ll see.

Remember to listen to that album you’ve been meaning to listen to, and never forget to enjoy . . .

A View From The Top: A look at what’s sitting atop this week’s Billboard charts, November 29th, 2008

Singles:
-Hot 100: T.I. feat. Rihanna: “Live Your Life”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
-Pop 100: Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
-Mainstream Top 40: Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
-Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
-Hot Modern Rock Tracks: The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”
-Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: AC/DC “Rock N Roll Train”
-Triple A: Coldplay “Lost!”
-Hot Rap Tracks: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
-Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks: Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”
-Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks: David Cook “The Time Of My Life”
-Hot Digital Songs: Beyonce “If I Were A Boy”
-Hot Digital Tracks: Beyonce “If I Were A Boy”
-Rhythmic Top 40: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
-Hot Dance Club Play: Dave Aude feat. Sisely Treasure “Grass Is Greener”
-Hot Dance Airplay: Ercola feat. Daniella “Every Word”
-Hot Dance Single Sales: Chester French “She Loves Everybody”
-Pop 100 Airplay: Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
-Hot 100 Airplay: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
-Hot Singles Sales: Coldplay “Lost!”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales: Hustle Boy feat. Mannie “It’s Nuthin’”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
-Hot Adult R&B Airplay: Jennifer Hudson “Spotlight”
-Hot Singles Recurrents: Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents: Keyshia Cole “I Remember”
-Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay: Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay: Keyshia Cole “I Remember”
-Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents: Brenda Lee “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”
-Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles: Taylor Swift “Tell Me Why”
-Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Laura Izibor “From My Heart To Yours”
-Hot Ringtones: Katy Perryy “Hot N Cold”
-Hot Country Songs: Taylor Swift “Love Story”

Albums:
-The Billboard 200 Albums: Taylor Swift - Fearless
-Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: T-Pain – 33 Ringz
-Top Digital Albums: Taylor Swift - Fearless
-Top Rock Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
-Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
-Top Hard Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
-Top Internet Albums: Taylor Swift - Fearless
-Top Independent Albums: Various Artists – Winter Wonderland
-Top Electronic Albums: Lady GaGa – The Fame
-Top Rap Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
-Top Soundtracks: Twilight Soundtrack
-Top Cast Albums: Original Broadway Cast Recording – Wicked
-Top Country Albums: Taylor Swift - Fearless
-Top Heatseekers: Dir En Grey - Uroboros

…on the international front:
-European Hot 100 Singles: Guru Josh Project “Infinity 2008”
-European Top 100 Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice

…and…whipping all others into submission:
-Hot Holdiay Songs: Bing Crosby “White Christmas”

Nate Silver, Superhero

2008-11-20T10:24:00.002-05:00

This video was posted by conservative former radio talk show host and anti-Obama documentarian John Ziegler's website HowObamaGotElected. He's trying to convince the world that Obama was elected because everyone who voted for him was woefully misinformed. On his site, Ziegler wrote:

On Election day twelve Obama voters were interviewed extensively right after they voted to learn how the news media impacted their knowledge of what occurred during the campaign. These voters were chosen for their apparent intelligence/verbal abilities and willingness to express their opinions to a large audience. The rather shocking video below seeks to provide some insight into which information broke through the news media clutter and which did not.

But Nate Silver, the polling genius of FiveThirtyEight.com, wasn't having it. Silver agreed to a phone interview with Ziegler that didn't go so well. Here is an excerpt:

NS: Would you consider yourself well-informed
JZ: I’d consider myself extremely well-informed.

NS: Who are the two senators from South Dakota
JZ: Thune and, uh, Johnson.

NS: Very good. South Carolina?
JZ: Go fuck yourself. I'm done with this interview if you're going to ask me stupid questions like that. Obviously I know who Lindsay Graham is.

NS: Well, since you’re running a website calling people misinformed, I’d like to see if -- there are certain things you’ve said that I would consider misinformed.
JZ: Misinformed? You're a piece of work! You are never going to have the guts to post a representative transcript on your website! I thought you actually ran a legitimate website!

NS: Thank you, have a good day.
JZ: Go fuck yourself.

Go, Nate. The near-Asperger's superhero of the 2008 election used his super-brain to make Ziegler appear as hysterical as he really is.

AKA Music Video: Frankmusik "3 Little Words"

2008-11-20T09:02:00.004-05:00

Frankmusik
"Three Little Words"
(And don't forget that Frank got a little nekkid not too long ago - NSFW)

Watch, listen, and love after the jump.

AKA Movies: 2012

2008-11-20T08:49:00.002-05:00

I know I've been a little out of the loop these past few days, with the internet issues and the site upgrades, but has anyone else seen the trailer for 2012? There is a whole subculture surrounding the year 2012, the last recorded day of the Mayan calendar. The year 2012 is supposed to be the year the world ends.

(I tried to find a movie poster, but apparently there was another movie by the same name, and I'm not sure which poster goes with which movie, so in the spirit of accuracy, I'll just leave it off the post.)

Watch the trailer after the jump.

AKA Interview: Kathy Griffin and Archuleta

2008-11-20T08:40:00.004-05:00

Kathy Griffin, in what may be a first strike, interviews David Archuleta for myspaceTV. Archuleta turns eighteen next month. Maybe I should put up one of those countdown clocks . . . .

Jump to it.
Kathy & David Archuleta

AKA Politics: Get Kotecki'd

2008-11-20T08:21:00.004-05:00

James Kotecki, that super-witty and super-quick political commenter (I know, but I don't know what other word to use to describe his special brand of political journalism), has a special "Softball" version of his usual online show. In this three minute clip, Kotecki is out-thought, out-maneuvered, and out-hit at every turn by his own guest!

Watch as he gives Emma Thompson a run for her horror money.

AKA TV: Emma Thompson Is A Fox (killer)

2008-11-20T08:08:00.004-05:00

I might be a little late to this party, but did you guys see Emma Thompson on David Letterman the other night? She followed that woman who was bitten by a fox while out for a jog and, when the fox wouldn't let go, she wrapped it up with her hoodie. While it was still attached to her arm. Yeah.

So, Emma recreates the scene during her entrance. Spontaneously. I haven't been that freaked out by Emma Thompson since her performance in Dead Again.

Watch the seizure after the jump.

AKA SOtD: Sufjan Stevens "Chicago"

2008-11-20T07:42:00.007-05:00

Pork says listen to this:
Sufjan Stevens
"Chicago"

Three ways to do what Pork says
Listen in The Media Bar
Click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen and browse
Or just do an old-fashioned jump by clicking

My Apologies

2008-11-19T13:22:00.005-05:00

Boy, these past two days have been rough posting days! Yesterday, it was the internet. Today, it's the upgrades to the site I've been making behind the scenes. They're taking a little longer than I expected, but they are completely worth it. Check out the new "Related Posts" feature at the bottom of each post's page. (Just click the post title link on any of the posts - for example, you can click "My Apologies" at the top of this post to be taken to this post's page.)There, you'll find links to posts and articles that are, well, related to the post you're on. That way you can find more of what you're looking for!

In the spirit of improvement, I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon installing another new and great feature. If all goes as planned, it'll be up by the end of the day, and I'll be back to the regular posting schedule bright and early.

Make sure to come back to check out all the new features!

Obama's Promise To Support Gay Rights

2008-11-19T10:06:00.005-05:00

Via Pink News

The next President of the United States has published a comprehensive list of action he will take on gay rights.

In a statement published on the Presidential transition website, Barack Obama and the Vice President-elect, Joe Biden, committed themselves to strengthening federal hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act.

The President-elect also committed to support civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples.

"Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples," the statement read.

Read all of Obama's promises on his website Change.gov.

Back On Track

2008-11-19T09:55:00.003-05:00

Okay, it looks like my internet connection is back up and running, which means I am back up and running. After I realized I couldn't do anything to immediately get things working, I went to a local cafe to have some coffee and wireless. Only this was that everyone else had the same idea. I had to sit on chair with no table and with the laptop actually on my lap. Who does that? I was one jostle away from losing my computer along with my internet access. I worked like that for as long as I could, but eventually I had to head back home to internetize my apartment again.

Can I just say that I was offline for just one day, and I feel like it's been ages. How can so much have happened in just one day?!

I'm just going to jump back in to the river and start swimming. My apologies for what I missed.

Oh, and did you notice that I broke The Media Bar post down into its constituent parts? Better, right?

Audio Espresso: NPR, Slate, NYT Podcasts

2008-11-19T09:35:00.003-05:00

The New York Times
NYT The Front Page 11/19

Slate's Culture Gabfest
In this week's Culture Gabfest, critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the Malcolm Gladwell phenomenon, Michelle Obama's role as First Lady and Mom-in-Chief, and the post-Obama buzz kill of Prop 8.

NPR
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) Big Three Automakers Take Their Case To Capitol Hill 2) Mom-In-Chief: Moms Closely Watch Michelle Obama

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love

2008-11-19T08:52:00.004-05:00

Pork really outdid himself with this one. Yes, it's Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love." It was a number one hit for two weeks at the end of april 1990, which, honestly, doesn't sound right to me. I feel like it was a number one hit for six years straight.

Watch, listen, and love after the jump.

Remember Witch Mountain?

2008-11-19T08:43:00.004-05:00

Race to Witch Mountain. Yes. A remake based on the most amazing movie ever made, Escape from Witch Mountain. I watched the trailer from the original, and in my memories it was a lot less Disney and a lot more terrifying. I'm not all that into The Rock, but push come to shove . . . .

The plot summary:

Race to Witch Mountain is a thrilling action-adventure about a hard luck Las Vegas cab driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson), whose life is thrown into chaos when apparent 'runaway' teenagers Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) jump into his taxi. He soon realizes his two fares are children with exceptional paranormal powers whom he must protect as they elude a collection of ruthless enemies.

Jump to it!

A Dinosaur Mummy!

2008-11-19T08:12:00.005-05:00

I thought I'd take just a little break from politics in The Media Bar (don't worry, I'm gonna be catching up today on the politics I missed out on yesterday with my fucked up internet, so don't you worry about any politics shortage here).

Today, we are having some dinosaurs! How cool is this? The National Geographic Channel featured a dinosaur mummy encased in stone! The mummy might contain fossilized bones and skin tissue, and possibly muscle and organs. It's like when that researcher discovered soft tissue in a dinosaur fossil. Only bigger. And better.

Watch it after the jump!

The View on Gay Civil Rights

2008-11-19T07:59:00.004-05:00

The ladies of The View have had a lot of important things to say about Prop 8, and the issues surrounding this have been complicated, but Elisabeth is beginning to be purposely spread lies. This is the last shred of bigotry that the right can use to focus what remains of their ragtag party. What a disgusting thing to use hatred as a rallying point.

The View needs to get a smart gay person on the panel to discuss this. I'm thinking Wayne Besen.

The video after the jump.

Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire (SNL)

2008-11-19T07:06:00.005-05:00

Kings of Leon
"Sex On Fire"
(Live from Saturday Night Live)

Listen after the jump!

Continuing Internet Issues

2008-11-18T14:04:00.001-05:00

The number of today's posts will be abbreviated while I get my internet up and running.

And what's up with Tuesdays being the technology-fuck-up day?

Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday

2008-11-18T13:26:00.009-05:00

Pork here.

What’s shaking, AKA Listeners?

You’ll read enough about Beyonce’s I Am Sasha Fierce in your newspaper and/or on just about any other site you’ll visit today, so I’m relieving myself of all Beyonce duties and focusing more on some releases that I’m actually excited about. After hearing 5 of its tracks, I Am Sasha Fierce leaves me not only unexcited, but also uninterested. Sorry, B.

Much more worthy of your eartime this week is Safe Trip Home by Dido. This is her third time around with a full length album and when I first read that she’d be working with Jon Brion, who is responsible for producing some of my all time favorite albums by Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple, I was surprised and elated. Upon hearing the results of their collaboration, I’m almost overwhelmed. In the span of just three albums Dido has managed to become a voice that can cut through the thickest of my mental preoccupations and reduce me to the most vulnerable of states. The subtle swells in Jon Brion’s production and multiple instrumentations are simply stunning when paired with Dido’s fragile-yet-firm vocals.

Both parties seem to be masters in restraint and demonstrate these strengths while painting some of the most beautiful scenes I've encountered this year. One listen to “It Comes And It Goes” and this should be apparent to even the most passive of listeners.

Slow and steady is how “Don’t Believe In Love” is delivered and that’s also how it hits. As a first single, it may lack the initial impact felt by “Here With Me” or “White Flag,” but upon repeated listens, it’s weight is slowly revealed . . . and felt. Once opened, Dido slips you some “Quiet Times” and proves yet again that she can slam you to the floor with the softest of blows. (Listen to it today in our Music Player.) Beauty through simplicity. This album has so much of both. It also has some “additional keyboards/ambience” by Brian Eno, so . . . you can guess what’s going on here.

Sometimes haunting. Sometimes embracing. Often both. In times like these, which seem to be the craziest, it’s music like this that’s necessary to heal you up a bit. It will soothe your soul in the same way that the madness riles it up.

A few weeks back I mentioned that Travis was my second favorite Scottish collective without taking a minute to mention who beats them out. No, it’s not Del Amitri (though I do enjoy them some). It’s not The Proclaimers. Nope, not Snow Patrol or Cocteau Twins (although brilliant as can be). Well, surprise, surprise! It’s none other than Belle and Sebastian. Nothing moved me more than If You’re Feeling Sinister in 1997 and I have been devoted ever since. I had only moved to New York City one month before being instructed by a friend of mine to immediately go to my nearest record store (at that point the HMV on 86th and Lexington) and buy this ground(and heart) breaking album. Er, cassette actually. Shut up. Let’s just say that I’ll never forget listening to it for the first time and desperately trying to keep up with where the music was taking my mind. Places I’d never been. Things I’d never seen. Friends I’d never met. Love I’d never felt. Let me be that friend to you now and urge you to own If You’re Feeling Sinister, which isn’t what’s even on today’s release schedule, but responsible for what would make me obsess about this particular release 11 years later. A collection of their BBC sessions is obviously what makes up The BBC Sessions (1996-2001) and hearing these performances laid out in such a way is more than a treat for fans like us who don’t get regular access to such amazing performances often. B-sides and rarities abound in these live takes that will leave you as numbed as their studio counterparts.

And then blah, blah, blah...something about David Cook.
:]

(Take a little time and enjoy . . . ) The List. All new releases for today, Tuesday November 18, 2008. After the jump!

Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions (1996-2001)
Beyonce – I Am Sasha Fierce
The Black Keys – Live at the Crystal Ballroom (DVD)
Chris Botti – Live In Boston
Bring Me The Horizon – Suicide Season
The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers
David Cook – David Cook
De La Soul – De La Sous Is Dead
Dido – Safe Trip Home
The Doors – Live at The Matrix 1967
False Icons – God Complex (produced by Al Jourgensen)
Foo Fighters – Live at Wembley Stadium (DVD)
Sammy Hagar – Cosmic Universal Fashion
Il Divo – The Promise
Ricky Martin – 17
Paul McCartney – The Space Within Us (Blu-ray)
Mudvayne – The New Game
Nickelback – Dark Horse
Danny O’Keefe – In Time
Luciano Pavarotti – Life in Seven Arias (DVD)
Shontelle – Shontelligence
The Who – The Who at Kilburn 1977 (DVD)

and today’s the day for all you Madonna fans to prepare for 2009 by getting your official 2009 Madonna calendar. Now you know.

All New Music Releases - November 18th, 2008

Gay Is Black, Mexican Is Gay

2008-11-18T12:35:00.006-05:00

Bil Browning over at Bilerico has written a post called "Three Things That Made Me Cry Today." Number One on his list is this:

Mexican Is The New Gay

. . . I was flirting with a guy online; he's latino. I asked him where he was from and he said, "I'm from Mexico. I hope that's okay." Okay? Okay!?

Apparently, if gay is the new black, Mexican is the new gay. Does this damned merry-go-round ever stop? Why would it not be okay what country he was from? France, Japan, Mexico or East Timor? I just can't imagine what it must be like to follow it up with, "I hope that's okay."

Maybe it's just seeing the whole "Blame The Blacks" meme whip through the queer community recently, but I'm feeling really sick about some of the overt racism that's floated through my world lately.

Mexican has been the new black for quite some time now. I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have heard nasty comments about Mexicans, directed at me, in the past year. Here are a few that come to mind:

"You better watch out, or you're going to look Mexican!"
"You know how those Mexicans breed."
"I went to California, and everywhere you looked it was fucking Mexicans, Mexicans, Mexicans!"
"You're Mexican? No, no, you mean you're Spanish."

And every time I hear one of these little gems, the first thing I think is, "What would my mother think of me if I didn't say something right now?" One of my friends said I was an angry half-Mexican. And you know what? He's right. It pisses me off that people who know better feel safe spouting bigotry to me, in front of me. Replace "Mexican" in the comments above with any other minority of your choice to see how violent it feels. "You better watch out or you're going to look black!" Or "You know how those Jews breed." Or "You're black? No, no, you mean you're white." I went to California and everywhere I looked it was faggots, faggots, faggots!" Yeah. It makes me feel queasy, too.

I went to breakfast on Sunday with a friend. While we were eating, a little Mexican boy and a little Mexican girl around 9 and 10, probably the children of the adults working there, kept refilling our coffee cups and water glasses. They were so cute, and they reminded me of two of my nephews and nieces. Each time they came back to our table, I kept wondering if they both dreamed of being President. You know what? I hope they do, but I doubt it. They hear from every conceivable arena that Mexicans are less than everyone else, that Mexicans are part of the American servant class.

I've written about this before, but with so much discussion surrounding gays and racism, I feel obligated to say something about this. How many times did I hear people on Fire Island make gagging sounds when the idea of sleeping with an Asian man came up in conversation? Or how about that Pines council member who told me, on a weekend that Kevin Aviance was performing, that it was "getting to be too . . . urban" and something had to be done?And then all this anti-Mormon talk. By gay people! It is a merry-go-round, and we do keep going round and round, but I can't help but think it's because we love the ride.

Internet Issues!

2008-11-18T11:49:00.001-05:00

I'm having some pretty major internet issues. Getting them worked out. Will be posting as soon as it gets sorted out.

Audio Espresso

2008-11-18T08:32:00.004-05:00

Wake Up With These!

The Rachel Maddow Show:
Okay, Arianna Huffington guest-hosted for Rachel Maddow last night. I think we can all agree that Arianna's performance is another reason to love Huck Maddow.

The New York Times:
NYT The Front Page 11/18
NYT The Science Times 11/18

NPR
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) Obama's New Rules Have Some Lobbyist Concerned 2) Public vs. Private Schooling: Is There A Wrong Answer? 3) Election Inspires Minority Leaders To Aim High 4) In Your Ear: Vernon Jordan 5) What Michelle Obama Is Giving Up

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

Beyonce Sings With Beyonce and Justin

2008-11-18T08:16:00.004-05:00

Music Video:
Beyonce and Beyonce and Justin Timberlake
"Single Ladies" (1:56)
This is the real video mixed with the SNL parody.

Watch them all after (you guessed it) the jump.

New Star Trek Trailer!

2008-11-18T08:05:00.003-05:00

Movies:
First trailer for the new Star Trek. I was never really a Trekkie (except maybe Voyager), and yeah, it's kind of geeky of me, but it's JJ Abrams. Remember Lost? And how gay is that EW cover.

Get gay and geeky with me after the jump.

Obama's First Fireside Chat

2008-11-18T07:53:00.004-05:00

Politics:
Obama's First YouTube Fireside Chat. With all the Prop 8 information coming in, I didn't get a chance to watch this until last night! I thought maybe some of you missed it, too.

I feel like we're going to be referring to our President-elect as "Papa Obama" by the end of the year. "Papa," we'll ask, "what do you think should be done about GM?" Feels kind of natural.

Watch after the jump!

Bonnie Hunt: A Special Guest

2008-11-18T07:40:00.004-05:00

Television:
Now, I am one of nine people in the United States who know that Bonnie Hunt has a daytime TV talk show. So imagine how surprised I was when I saw that not only was Madame Secretary Hillary Clinton on the Bonnie Hunt Show, she was on the Bonnie Hunt Show doing a "Gypsy" tribute. (Honest to God, for the first 6 seconds I was convinced it was her!)(00:24)

Watch after the jump!

Dido - Quiet Times (from Safe Trip Home)

2008-11-18T07:12:00.004-05:00

Daily Song:
Dido
"Quiet Times"
from Safe Trip Home

Listen after the jump!

Politics Happy Hour

2008-11-17T17:18:00.002-05:00

The Lady's Brunch Burger Award

2008-11-17T16:50:00.005-05:00

Before I announce the winner of today's Lady's Brunch Burger Award (the LBBA), I need to once again give thanks to Paula Deen, that evil culinary genius. Without her brilliantly devious recipe for her non-delicious, non-nutritious, 1200-calorie Lady's Brunch Burger, I would have no Award to give! Many say Paula's cooking is unhealthy, but not me. I say it's genius. Paula is a provocateur. Paula is subversive. Paula's creations are edible social commentary that she dares you to eat! I hear you, Paula. I hear you.

Today's LBBA recipient! From her very own bio!

[She] is the president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy (www.iMAPP.org), whose motto is "strengthening marriage for a new generation" and whose unique mission is research and public education on ways that law and public policy can strengthen marriage as a social institution. [Except she thinks gays should be excluded.]

She is a nationally syndicated columnist, the author of three books on marriage (including most recently with University of Chicago Prof Linda Waite "The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better-Off Financially"), and a leading voice of the new marriage movement. National Journal named her to the 2004 list of the most influential people in the same-sex marriage debate. [She has been one of the major secular voices opposing gay marriage.]

She appears frequently on major TV and radio and is frequently asked to lecture at colleges, universities and law schools. She has testified as an expert witness on marriage before the U.S. Senate and in various state legislatures. Her writings on marriage have appeared in The New York Times, The Weekly Standard, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as scholarly journals such as the Louisiana Law Review, and the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy.

She is a graduate of Yale (class of ’82). She lives with her husband and two children in Westchester, New York.

Who is this happily married bigot? Who is the family-oriented hypocrite? Find out after the jump!

It's Maggie Gallagher!

That's right. Mrs. Gallager gets three Lady's Brunch Burgers! And let's face it, this won't be Mrs. Gallagher's first Lady's Brunch Burger. Or her last.

You can listen to her in all of her nonsensible hysteria as she screams at Michelangelo Signorile below:

AKA What You're Looking For

2008-11-17T15:46:00.006-05:00

It's that time of the day, folks. After gaying it up all day here at AKA William, it was time to turn for a moment (just a moment!) to the larger world. So, here is a list of today's Top 10 Google searches:

1. mamma.com
2. mark cuban
3. mark cuban insider trading
4. scooping
5. eliving
6. johnjay and rich
7. bixby letter
8. momma.com
9. 60 minutes interview with obama
10. not evil just wrong
11. wanda sykes married

Damn. I googled "mamma.com" and killed four birds with one stone: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The SEC says it has charged Mark Cuban with insider trading in shares of Mamma.com" 1, 2, 3, and 8. People are still insider-trading after Martha?

Number 6? "johnjay and rich" you ask? Yeah. It was all about Carrie Moten. She works at a Tucson radio station. "Working Moms: Carrie Moten104.7 KISS FM Carrie Moten, a radio personality with the Johnjay and Rich Show, tells us about the benefits of her job in radio and the flexibility is gives her to work and take care of her kids." There was something about her being naked, but I couldn't find anything. Not that I looked all that hard. I mean, this is "all kinds of gay." Not "all kinds of straight." I wasn't feeling sufficiently inspired.

Number 7? The Bixby Letter is a letter that was written by Lincoln to a mother of five sons who died in the Civil War. A copy of the letter may have been found in Dallas. Funny how Lincoln keeps cropping up now that Obama and his "Team of Rivals" is up and coming. Go Hillary!

"not evil just wrong?" Some right-wing anti-climate-change documentary being promoted by that closeted homosexualist, Matt Drudge

And I personally have a video of Number 9 right here on AKA William because that's how Top 10 I am - Obama's 60 Minutes interview.

I had to cheat a little bit to get some real good gayness going on, but only a little. Today it's the "Top 11."Did you see 11? Yup, our amazing Wanda Sykes is breaking gay googling records!

And, if anyone can explain "scooping" please do because, I mean, I have no idea what it means. It sounds dirty, but I'm going to need some proof.

Bar Snacks: BSG Gay, Prince Anti-Gay

2008-11-17T15:21:00.008-05:00

Cynthia Nixon on Larry King (guest-hosted by Joy Behar) talks Prop 8
(I'm a little behind on getting this one up, but I did want to get it up. Contrast this to Tammy Lynn's Oprah debacle.)

This guy is married to one of the stars of Ugly Betty. I don't know which one. Don't really care.

Prince decides he doesn't like gay sex

This weekend's top 10
Via Box Office Mojo
1) Quantum of Solace $70,400,000
2) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $36,130,000
3) Role Models $11,710,000
4) High School Musical 3: Senior Year $5,879,000
5) Changeling $4,247,000
6) Zack and Miri Make a Porno $3,200,000
7) Soul Men $2,428,000
8) The Secret Life of Bees $2,400,000
9) Saw V $1,790,000
10) The Haunting of Molly Hartley $1,649,000

Out Magazine had its annual Out 100 Party. It looks like it was fun. From here.

FiveThirtyeight's Nate Silver gets a few tips on how to be more . . . camera-ready

You are 80% less likely to die from a meteor landing on your head if you wear a bicycle helmet all day.
Helmet up, boys and girls, if you know what's good for you

SF artist wants to cyborgize herself and install camera in her fake eye

Battlestar Galactica finally gets some man-on-man action. For the 17 of us who still watch this once best show on TV, the long, dry wait is over! The gay characters, who apparently are regulars, better be Anders and Apollo.

Day Without A Gay

2008-11-17T14:39:00.004-05:00

After the successes (and failures) of the past few weeks of Proposition 8, everyone is asking "What's next?" From Join The Impact, the group of dedicated people who coordinated the National Protest Day - The Day Without A Gay:

The worldwide media attention surrounding our massive grassweb efforts for gay rights has been tremendous. Join the Impact was a HUGE success and will continue to thrive because of our efforts.

We've reacted to anti-gay ballot initiatives in Californaia, Arizona Florida, and Arkansas with anger, with resolve, and with courage. NOW, it's time to show America and the world how we love.

Gay people and our allies are compassionate, sensitive, caring, mobilized, and programmed for success. A day without gays would be tragic because it would be a day without love.

On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes.

On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service!

I won't be calling in sick, though! I'll be right here.

Poltergeist Preacher Blames Gays For Fires

2008-11-17T14:07:00.009-05:00

Former gay and current crazy James Hartline (who bears a striking resemblance to the almost-as-crazy preacher from "Poltergeist 2" - see above and try to guess which one is which) is blaming the gays for the fires stampeding across Southern California:

Each time homosexual activists attempt to force their agenda on California, there have been raging, massive, incinerating fires sweeping across the California landscape.

Today, people are running for their lives as 800 California homes have burned down and the firestorm is spreading like a nuclear holocaust. Yet, the radical homosexual anarchists rampage upon the streets of this state demanding the destruction of marriage and family, and the establishment of their socialistic dark vision for society.

. . . They Would Not Listen -- And Now We Are Burning!
They shook their fists at God and said, "We don't care what God says, we will issue our legal brief to support gay marriage in San Diego!" Then Mayor Jerry Sanders mocked the Christian vote and signed off on this rebellious legal document to support same-sex marriage.

And then the streets of La Jolla under the Mt. Soledad Cross began to cave in. They shook their fists at God and said, "We don't care what the Bible says, We want the California school children indoctrinated into homosexuality!"

The San Diego lunatic who, according to his website, is doing everything he can to save his city, "from fighting illegal porn stores to exposing the corruption within the homosexual agenda, James is being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego, California" also has a book out so that we can "now read the amazing life and death struggle James Hartline fought to leave the homosexual lifestyle."

Could you imagine? I really think James and medavog, the stellar gay San Diego reporter ("The Berlin Wall, to name a few") whose startling Prop 8 documentary has forever changed my view of the world, should hang out and have a nice chat. I kind of hope medavog's real name is Carol Ann.

Gays In Military Not First On Obama's List

2008-11-17T13:48:00.005-05:00

Pink News is reporting that given the state of the nation, the ban on gays in the militar will likely not be a priority for the new administration:

A group that campaigns to repeal a ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people serving in the US Armed Forces has said it does not expect the new Obama administration to deal with the issue as soon as it takes power.

. . . Given that 75% of the American public have said they want the repeal of the ban on gays in the military, known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," it would seem an obvious choice for early attention from the new administration.

However, a spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, a group that campaigns for an end to the ban, told Metro Weekly:

"There is a very full agenda for President-elect Obama, and we know we will not be first in line.

More after the jump.

"To be successful in eliminating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, we need a partnership between the White House, Congress and our military leaders.

. . . In an interview with Gay History Project in September, Senator Obama said he would not use the office of President to abolish [Don't Ask, Don't Tell].

"I want to make sure that when we revert "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of that, of what my expectations are, so that it works," he said.

"My first obligation as the President is to make sure that I keep the American people safe and that our military is functioning effectively.

"Although I have consistently said I would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.

"That's how we were able to integrate the Armed Services to get women more actively involved.

"At some point, [you've] got to make a decision that that's the right thing to do, but you always want to make sure that you are doing it in a way that maintains our core mission in our military."

Less Doom And Gloom

2008-11-17T13:28:00.003-05:00

Of course, as soon as I posted "Separate Is Not Equal" I came across this post on Pam's House Blend that shows it's not all doom and gloom on the race front:

I wore a t-shirt that read "I'm a Victim of H8" to the car wash. As I was waiting for my car, a young African American man walked up to me, motioned to my t-shirt, and said, "I didn't vote for that."

I was somewhat surprised that this guy felt the need to approach me and let me know that he didn't vote for Prop. 8. Was he concerned about reports in the media about tension between LGBT people and the African American community?

"Thanks," I replied.

"No one I know voted for it either?" he added.

Okay, now I was certain where he wanted to go with the conversation.

"That's great," I said. "You know the majority of voters in Monterey County voted against it. Young voters like you were really against it."

"I just want to say that no one in my family voted for it. Not even the older ones. None of my friends did either. It is just wrong."

"Well, there's going to be a peaceful rally at Colton Hall today at 10:30. You should come if you're not busy. Bring your friends."

"(Laughs) Maybe my friends will come if I can tell them there will be attractive ladies there. You know what I mean?"

"I can promise that there will be lots of young ladies there -- attractive, straight young ladies. Bring a sign that says 'straight but not narrow' and you'll be very popular."

Then, he introduced himself as Shawn. We shook hands and chatted about a few other things as we waited for our cars to get dried off and polished.

I didn't see Shawn at the event later that day. I'm not sure if he was able to make it or not. If he arrived after that crowd got big and we began to march, I would not have been able to spot him.

However, there were quite a few African American folks at the event. Keep in mind that Monterey is very very white. So, it always amazes me that these rallies have such a diverse turnout.

This is exactly opposite of my experience, and it's heartening to know that when we extend a hand, it will be grasped

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-17T12:08:00.005-05:00

Via Charmants, Rob Devita.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Separate Is Not Equal

2008-11-17T11:04:00.007-05:00

This picture, which I took at the New York City National Day of Protest in front of City Hall, is far and away my favorite picture from that day and it visually sums up exactly what I felt that day.

In the foreground is my friend, actor Paul Stovall, an African-American man. He is standing in front of a sign that reads "Separate Is Not Equal." The sign is being held by a white woman. A white woman using the same language today that a black woman would have used fifty years ago. Who would have thought then that a white person today would have reason to use the exact same language to call for her own equal rights? It's stunning. Beautiful. This should be a powerful image of unity for all people who have struggled to obtain civil rights - black people, female people, brown people, gay people. People who have struggled separately finally coming together to fight for the larger, truer principle -- equality for all. That should be what this image represents. But it's not.

Instead, this picture is bizarre. Bizarre because, during the protest, Paul turned to me and said, "Someone forgot to invite the black people." The crowd was overwhelmingly white. 90 percent white. There were a few black people and a few brown people scattered through the crowd. In New York City. I overheard someone next to me say, "This looks like a circuit party." Bizarre because, there we all were, demanding to be treated equal, demanding to be included, demanding our civil rights, using the language of other minorities who have fought the same fight before us while those people were nowhere in sight! Bizarre because something is very wrong when we demonstrate that we know we have all gone through the same struggle but then don't fight together.

Only one person of color gave a speech. The other speechmakers said the people of color who were scheduled to speak couldn't make it. Separate is not equal, and separate is not united. And separate won't win this fight.

The protest in NYC last Wednesday and the national protests on Saturday were exactly the same. Something is wrong here. I have one question: Why is this fight for civil rights, this fight in particular, such a white fight?

Civil Rights In New York City - Protest

2008-11-17T10:27:00.006-05:00

I went to the New York City National Day of Protest. I will be posting pics and my take next, but I wanted to get this up now. Above is a compilation video of some of the speakers. There were a lot of inspiring speakers, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, U.S. Rep. Anthony Wiener, Assembly member Danny O’Donnell, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Marriage Equality New York’s Kathy Marino Thomas, Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle, former contestant on “America’s Next Top Model” and out lesbian Kim Stoltz, poet Emanuel Xavier and others.

But, for my money, the best speaker was Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle. Yup, Miss America gave a smart, moving, exceptional speech that, in effect, reminded us to that reason and tolerance (and I do mean "tolerance" - meaning "you don't have to like it, but you do have to put up with it") are required on all sides of this battle and will go a long way in winning the war because, as she said, "This is no less than the greatest civil rights battle of our generation!" You can hear part of her speech above. The full audio can be heard here (about 4 minutes long).

A Lack of Gay Leadership

2008-11-17T10:19:00.003-05:00

Everywhere I turn I find evidence that we have no real leader. Tammy Lynn Michaels is our voice? Jasmyne Cannick is our civil rights spokesmodel? The HRC has, as Andrew Sullivan pointed out, has been almost entirely absent these past few weeks:

You will notice that the website of the biggest gay rights group in the country has one single mention - it's a blog about a celebrity, of course - of the massive protests that occurred for marriage equality across the country yesterday. (A letter from Joe Solmonese tells us to be nice.) You will also notice that a handful of young non-professionals were able to organize in a few days what HRC has been incapable of doing in months or years. You will know from brutal experience that in the two decades of serious struggle for marriage equality, the Human Rights Campaign has been mostly absent, and when present, often passive or reactive. Here's a simple statistic that might help shake us out of complacency: HRC claims to have spent $3.4 million on No On 8. The Mormon church was able to spend over $20 million, by appealing to its members. Why are non-gay Mormons more capable of organizing and fund-raising on a gay rights measure than the biggest national gay rights group? I mean: they claim (absurdly, but bear with me) 725,000 supporters and members. In the summer, the major problem for No On 8 was insufficient early funding. If HRC had led, they could have thrown their money weight behind it. If every supporter had given $20 - chump change for the biggest ever battle yet for civil rights - they could have delivered $14 million overnight. So why didn't they?

The two people who have been our best voices are Michelangelo Signorile and Wanda Sykes. All of our spokespeople are leading us by default. Where is our Harvey Milk? Where is our generation's Larry Kramer?

Chaos In The Castro

2008-11-17T09:37:00.003-05:00

On Friday night, a group of Christians preaching in the Castro had to be escorted out of the neighborhood by police in riot gear.

Via Joe.My.God.

KTVU reports:

SAN FRANCISCO -- In San Francisco's Castro District, people on both sides of the same-sex marriage controversy confronted each other on Friday night, as police tried to keep the peace. Proposition 8 passed in a close vote and eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Members of the gay community said that almost every Friday night, a Christian group meets at the corner of Castro and 18th Streets. They try to convert gays and lesbians into a straight lifestyle.

This Friday night, the message didn't go over well. Some gays and lesbians reacted by trying to chase the group out of the Castro.

"Their rights were respected," said Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop 8. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."

San Francisco Police officers in riot gear formed a line and escorted the religious group into a van to safely get them out of the area.

. . . Supporters of Prop 8 include the Mormon and Catholic churches. They say the passage of the measure was the will of the people and that they are being unfairly targeted.

Don Eaton, the public affairs representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in the Bay Area said, "The church only encourages people to vote their conscience. The church also reminded us what our doctrine is with regards to marriage between a man and a woman." He also said that some members of the church gave money to the No on 8 campaign, and they weren't punished by the church.

A non-profit group called the Equal Justice Society joined the legal battle against Prop 8 on Friday. It and the NAACP, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and Mexican American Legal Defense jointly filed a lawsuit. They are asking the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8, arguing that it takes away civil rights.

"People of color need to stand up for the LGBT community," said Eva Paterson of the Equal Justice Society. "We think civil rights groups that represent people of color say it's very dangerous for the California electorate to take away constitutionally guaranteed rights."

The Justice House of Prayer posted the above video on YouTube under their username "IntolerantPeople" with claims that gay men kicked and sexually assaulted them during the melee.

It was the first time we'd been back in the Castro to do our normal outreach since California Proposition 8, which defined marriage as "one man with one woman" was passed. We played the guitar and sang together and worshiped the Lord. After just singing and worshiping God for a while, Roger decided that we should all hold hands in a circle and continue singing. So we did. Someone (Actually a person who came up and hugged and kissed some of us who he knew from the past) convinced some people that we were there to protest against the no on 8 campaign.

More after the jump.

Then some guy who was dressed up like one of the sisters (The sisters of perpetual indulgence is a group of men who dress up like nuns and call themselves the spiritual authority of the Castro.) took a curtain-type thing (Which I think they use to curse people) and wrapped it around us. Then a crowd started gathering. We began to sing "Amazing Grace", and basically sang that song the whole night. (At some points we also sang "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and "Oh the Blood of Jesus".)

At first, they just shouted at us, using crude, rude, and foul language and calling us names like "haters" and "bigots". Since it was a long night, I can't even begin to remember all of the things that were shouted and/or chanted at us. Then, they started throwing hot coffee, soda and alcohol on us and spitting (and maybe even peeing) on us. Then, a group of guys surrounded us with whistles, and blasted them inches away from our ears continually. Then, they started getting violent and started shoving us.

At one point a man tried to steal one of our Bibles. Chrisdene noticed, so she walked up to him and said "Hey, that's not yours, can you please give it back?". He responded by hitting her on the head with the Bible, shoving her to the ground, and kicking her. I called the cops, and when they got there, they pulled her out of the circle and asked her if she wanted to press charges. She said "No, tell him I forgive him." Afterwards, she didn't rejoin us in the circle, but she made friends with one of the people in the crowd, and really connected heart to heart.

Roger got death threats. As the leader of our group, people looked him in the eyes and said "I am going to kill you.", and they were serious. A cop heard one of them, and confronted him. (This part is kinda graphic, so you should skip the paragraph if you don't want to be offended.) It wasn't long before the violence turned to perversion. They were touching and grabbing me, and trying to shove things in my butt, and even trying to take off my pants - basically trying to molest me. I used one hand to hold my pants up, while I used the other arm to hold one of the girls. The guys huddled around all the girls, and protected them.

Soon after, the cops came and stood between us and the mob. When it was getting more heated, the cops were like "You guys should leave." and Roger said "We want to stay." Someone tried to steal my backpack, but I tapped a cop on the shoulder, and said "Hey, that's my bag." and he got it from him and gave it to me. Others weren't so lucky. Probably half our team got their jackets stolen.

Eventually, as the crowd was getting more and more uncontrollable, the cops were afraid for our lives, so they escorted us to our van. (The cops were very nice to us from start to finish.) Our van was parked pretty far because it was hard to find parking that day. As the cops escorted us, the mob followed us, until the cops formed a line, and held off the people so we could drive away. We took the long way home, just in case anyone tried to follow us.

When we got home, we prayed and sang more, and then prayed over each-other. Please know my heart. All of what we do is for the Love of Jesus Christ, and the love for those in the Castro. The Bible says to love God, and then love people. We can only love because He loved us first. We can't hate the people because they are just broken and blinded by the spirit of this age. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Principalities and Powers. It's not a political thing, we just love the people.

Obama's First Post-Election Interview

2008-11-17T08:44:00.002-05:00

President-elect Obama gives his first post-election interview on "60 Minutes." He and Michelle are probably the most likable couple in the world right now.

Audio Espresso

2008-11-17T08:16:00.004-05:00

Wake Up With These!

Meet The Press 11/16

The New York Times
NYT The Front Page (4:59)

Slate
Obama's New Toy: Snazzy new technology isn't enough to bring transparency to the White House, by John Dickerson

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

The Media Bar Is Open!

2008-11-17T07:37:00.009-05:00

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Today's Gigantic Media Bar is so big because so much happened over the weekend! Let's get started.

Daily Song:
Fleet Foxes
"White Winter Hymnal"

Television:
SNL
Justin Timberlake as one of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" backup dancers (5:01)
and
Paul Rudd and Adam Samberg get gay and naked in "Everyone's A Critic"
and
"The Kissing Family"
It's real, real gay.

Politics:
4 Prop 8 videos
Melissa Etheridge's wife Tammy Lynn appears on Oprah and attempts to singlehandedly destroy the right for gays to marry. Best line from Lady's Brunch Burger Award-winner Tammy Lynn: "I don't care about the word 'marriage.'"(9:45)

Wanda Sykes comes out! Yup, the woman who convincingly argued that everyone getting fucked in the ass might just save all marriages has come out! Best line in her coming out speech? "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be black. And I'm proud to be gay." (4:24)

Ashton Kutcher on Bill Maher. Best line from Kutcher: "It's unconstitutional!"

A Mattachine Society-era Michelangelo Signorile puts on the best display of rational thinking so far by any of our gay spokespeople. Best line from Signorile: "Are you going to let me talk, Maggie?"

And then there's medavog, the youtube user who uploaded what could possibly be not just the best Prop 8 video out there, but very possibly the best video of any kind in the past six months.

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
Fleet Foxes
"White Winter Hymnal"

Politics?

And then there's medavog, the youtube user from my hometown of San Diego who uploaded what could possibly be not just the best Prop 8 video out there, but very possibly the best video of any kind in the past six months. Favorite line: "The Berlin wall, to name a few."

Television:

Justin Timberlake as one of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" backup dancers (5:01)

Television:
Paul Rudd and Andy Samberg get gay and naked in "Everyone's A Critic"

Television:

SNL "The Kissing Family"
This should be called "The Gay Kissing Family" (4:10)

National Day Of Protest

2008-11-14T17:05:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow is the National Day of Protest. There are a lot of questions about what's going on and, fortunately, there are also a lot of answers out there. Towleroad has the most extensive Prop 8 information online, including:

The State Supreme Court has asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to reply by Monday to lawsuits challenging the legality of Prop 8, suggesting the court is taking them very seriously: "The filing the court requested from Brown's office will not address the ballot measure's validity, but will focus instead on the initial questions of whether the justices should accept the suits for review - and, if so, whether they should suspend Prop. 8 while they decide the case, said the state's lawyer, Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general. Suspending Prop. 8 would allow same-sex marriages to resume."

USA Today: After passage of Prop 8, support for same-sex marriage grows.

L.A. Times: Boycott talk spreads...

And go to Join the Impact for any questions you have about protests in your city -- times, locations, etc. You'll also find pdfs of all kinds of signs and banners that you can download and print out, like the one at the top of this post, created by Shepard Fairey, the designer of the iconic Obama posters.

Politics Happy Hour

2008-11-14T16:59:00.002-05:00

The Lady's Brunch Burger Award

2008-11-14T16:22:00.012-05:00

I have to thank Paula Deen for being so deviously brilliant with her Lady's Brunch Burger recipe. She knew exactly what she was doing when she invented it. She knew exactly what kind of person would and should be eating her non-delicious, non-nutritious, 1200-calorie Lady's Brunch Burger. Well, Paula, in your wicked name, I am passing along your vision.

Today's recipient!

The award goes to a famous lesbian. Why would The Lady's Brunch Burger Award go to one of our own? Let's see: For appearing on national television arguing, effectively, against gay marriage by saying that she's not all that "fired-up" about the word "marriage" and maybe she'll be "kicking herself later." For writing, on her blog www.hollywoodfarmgirl.blogspot.com:

"i don't care what word they want to keep precious to themselves... 'marriage'... that's okay... it doesn't take away how well they love me, or how often we've laughed together, or how deeply we've grieved together... my family's behavior speaks to me louder than any ink dot on a ballet [sic]."

gimme the same rights, the same taxations, all that stuff. and you can have your fistful of letters that form an english language word. it's not going to matter in 10 years. moot."

For forcing Oprah to step in and correct her to tell her that it IS about the word "marriage." And for making her wife sit up nervously and tell the nation that she doesn't really mean it. For all these reasons and more, today's Lady's Brunch Burger Award goes to . . .

Tammy Lynn Michaels! The wife of Melissa Etheridge. Yes, this lovely lesbian, Tammy Lynn, stabbed every single gay person directly and precisely in the back with her foul words. How many right-wingers are going to use her words against us? And, who, for God's sake, who appointed her one of our spokespeople?! She went on Oprah and said the word "marriage" didn't matter! Et tu, Tammy Lynn?

Tammy Lynn, you beat out Bill O'Reilly for today's Lady's Brunch Burger Award. The only question left is: How hungry are you?

That's right, Tammy, you are looking famished! Eat up!

AKA What You're Looking For

2008-11-14T15:32:00.006-05:00

Based on the top Google searches for the day, this is what you guys are looking for today, folks. And as part of this site's mission to embed us gays into the larger world, here you go.

1. boston city hall
2. cape wrangell
3. western aviation
4. montparnasse tower
5. natalie gulbis
6. lucky shoe monument ...
7. factory five
8. tea fire map
9. port authority bus terminal
10. vanilla bean

This is what came up when I Googled "boston city hall" - "Poll: Boston City Hall ugliest building on planet." This is the most popular search?

You want to hear something fucked-up? Based on eavesdropping on the TV today while I pulled posts together, I can explain at least three of the searches. Number 5? Some girl won some dinner with Natalie Gulbis, who I think is an LPGA golfer. Number 8? That's the California fire where Oprah's house is! #10? Some woman won $100,000 this morning on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" for guessing that orchids are the source of vanilla beans.

Let's back this up a bit because this Top 10 list was all larger-world and no gay. Let's try this one from November 4, Election Day:

1. mccain concession speech
2. david plouffe
3. uncle tom
4. did prop 8 pass
5. mccain concedes
6. obama acceptance speech
7. david pluff
8. california election results 2008
9. obama elected president
10. obama campaign manager

That's better. Look at that. Number 4 and Number 8 show that gay marriage was a huge deal even as it was being passed - the seeds of the protest were there all along.

And what the fuck is up with Number 3!

Bar Snacks: Kutcher, Oprah, Exo-Planets

2008-11-14T14:18:00.013-05:00

Keith Olbermann, who redeemed himself a few days ago when he gave his moving "Special Comment" on gay marriage, has been summed up in one short minute by 23/6.

Ashton Kutcher shows some ass-crack at LAX yesterday. I wouldn't mind if this picture were about 50% sexier.

Kanye West, who has been a supporter of gay rights, has been arrested for hitting a paparazzo.

Melissa Etheridge on Oprah today to discuss Prop 8. Mama Oprah is getting involved!

First ever photos of planets outside of our solar system

Candlelight vigil outside of "Milk" premiere, with interviews with the stars. This really is the right movie at the right time.

Oprah is having a busy day. Her home in Montecito, CA is being threatened by an out-of-control fire

A different kind of "Bottomfeeder." A different kind, unfortunately. This one's about "how to eat ethically in world of vanishing seafood." See, still worth checking in.

20 Essential iPhone apps

CNNSI's Tennis Mailbag: Nadal's longevity in question. (This is how crack is done - large pic probably NSFW)

Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly Go At It

2008-11-14T13:58:00.008-05:00

Bill O'Reilly has been making a lot of news lately. I'm wondering if he's been even louder lately because of the vacuum that now exists in place of Republican leadership. Bill is stepping up and speaking out! It's the Bill and Sarah Palin show, people. Bill and Sarah.

And Bill O'Reilly doesn't know what a panda looks like? Pandas are the international symbol for peace and conservation. Every fetus is taught in utero that pandas are black and white and eat nothing but bamboo and are extremely rare because they are too lazy to mate. My God, no wonder the right was so anti-environment for so long -- they don't even know what nature looks like!

Is it bad to enjoy watching the right flail? Because this is a lot of fun.

Marriage vs. Civil Unions

2008-11-14T13:06:00.005-05:00

I'm preaching to the choir here, but this is good information to know. Civil unions are different from marriages - and here's how:

Legal Status, Recognition, Portability of Rights Not valid outside of the state that grants it. No federal protections. Legal structure to dissolve partnership not guaranteed outside of state. May be dissolved without court ruling under some circumstances.

Social Recognition
Not universally understood because benefits vary widely by jurisdiction. Without common understanding of their meaning, domestic partnerships don't provide the same kind of honor and respect that marriages do.

Medical Decisions, Emergencies
Partner's right to visitation and medical decision making may not be recognized out of state.

Partner's right to visitation and medical decision making
Partners may feel unsure of legal protection, and at the mercy of political whims of elected officials.

Tax Benefits
Large gift transfers and inheritance transactions subject to federal taxes. Federal tax returns filed separately.

Retirement, Leave, and other Family Benefits
Do not receive Social Security, veteran's benefits and pension plan survivor benefits upon death of partner. Not guaranteed equal benefits from employers. Excluded from long-term care benefits. Not guaranteed family leave to care for ill partner.

Spousal and Child Support
Outside of state, partners have no legal obligation to support their partner.

Immigration
No benefits for couples in bi-national relationships.

Common Residence
Must share common residence.

Name Changes
Not allowed without court order.

Privacy
Maintained by the state with a central, public and easily-searchable database.

The more information we have, the better. Via Let California Ring.

Frankmusik Naked Butt

2008-11-14T12:22:00.008-05:00

I felt bad you guys didn't have any bare asses today, so I'm serving up some naked Vincent Frank, AKA Frankmusik. This boy has been giving Pork some unnatural surges in lust, and I can see why. I mean, that ass? Perfect.

Frankmusik did a nekkid photo shot for AXM magazine a few weeks ago, and his ass is so edible that he's still making us buzz.

Oh, and this does not mean you should not take your own ass pics to send me. Take them. And send them.

One NSFW pic and one NSFW-ish pic after the jump.

Five Ways To Win Gay Marriage

2008-11-14T11:51:00.005-05:00

John Corvino has written about 5 ways we can win gay marriage. This is great. These are great beginning guidelines as we navigate the flood of information:

1. Tell our stories. A striking feature of the various anti-amendment campaigns was the invisibility of those they were supposed to help: gay people. I’m grateful for straight people who support our rights. But straight people can’t directly illustrate the palpable ways in which our families matter to us.

2. Cut the vague talk about “rights” and “discrimination.” It’s wrong to take away rights, right? Well, sure—but we need to be more specific than that.

3. Use words like “bigot” and “hate” sparingly. There is no doubt that some of our opponents are hateful bigots. (I’ve got the mail to prove it.) But 5.7 million California voters?

4. Don’t let opponents hide behind religion. 83% of weekly churchgoers voted in favor of Prop. 8, and they contributed a large percentage of the $36 million raised to promote it. 90% of self-identified atheists and agnostics voted against it.

5. Patience, yes; complacency, never. Time is on our side. California marriage-equality opponents drew 61% of the vote in 2000 but only 52% this year. Voters under 30 heavily opposed Prop. 8.

Head over to 365gay.com to read more.

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-14T11:36:00.008-05:00

Model Noah Mills. I know, I keep saying I don't like models, but I keep posting them. Maybe I don't like professional model pics. Yeah, the non-posed feeling ones are way sexier.

Click thumbnails to enlarge. Sorry, no NSFW pics today. You're gonna have to get your own nekkid butt this weekend. If you do, take pics and get featured on A Good Stiff One!

Bill O'Reilly Baits Besen and Cannick

2008-11-14T10:42:00.006-05:00

Via Joe.My.God.

Okay, this is exactly what should NOT be happening. Bill O'Reilly, on national television, is pitting one gay segment against the other. And what is Jasmyne Cannick doing dancing around the question of whether gay rights are civil rights?! Up to now, she has been a leading voice in identifying all of the civil rights issues surrounding the Prop 9 fallout. She pulled a Dan Savage on this one.

At the end of the segment, Wayne Besen looks a little shell-shocked that he was baited into fight with Cannick. No one benefits when we start sniping at each other like this. No one. Identifying a problem is one thing -- attacking someone on your own side is another.

Bill O'Reilly has just become a nominee for today's Lady's Brunch Burger Award.

What Gays Can Do For Civil Rights

2008-11-14T09:48:00.005-05:00

There has been so much energy surrounding this new direction for equal rights for us gays, and I have found it, well, exhilirating. I have felt a little bad, though, for not being able to join in unequivocally. I've been saying that we need to examine ourselves and our leaders for our failures. And I've been saying that we were too focused on blaming Mormons. And I've been saying that racism has played its part in the gay community for too long now. I've brought these issues up because I really do believe that now is the time to fix these problems (let's just call them that because that's what they are), but, honestly, I've felt a little like I've been somehow betraying my own community for pointing out its flaws. I've felt a little alone in thinking these things.

But, today, there two opinions in The Gay City News that make me feel a little less . . . isolated in this thinking. Herndon L. Davis writes:

My advice to the LGBT community, the organizers of No on Prop 8, the many different LGBT funders, and the remaining members of the Gay Mafia is that they take seriously the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors of black and people of color communities as they endeavor further in the marriage equality quest.

. . . In some corners of our diverse LGBT community, there is a blatant disregard for culture, religion, and the oppression of other racial and ethnic groups. Many working class blacks and Latinos are struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and, yes, dodge bullets; their first instinct is not to lift their eyes up from their burdens to see the connection to the white- faced, seemingly privileged LGBT leadership that would move them to support marriage equality.

These are big chunks of truth that the LGBT community seems ill-prepared to accept, never mind tackle. In this new age of Obama, a much deeper conversation concerning LGBT race relations lies ahead, one that for now the community seems eager to shy away from.

And Eliyanna Kaiser and Gary Parker write:

Like everyone else in our community, we are upset about the passage of Proposition 8 in California. At a time when the country is celebrating the election of the first African-American president, the LGBT community suffered one of its biggest civil rights setbacks in recent history. And make no mistake about it, we are angry.

Unfortunately, some of the anger our community feels is being directed in unproductive and questionable ways, like the protest being held on Wednesday, November 12, outside the Manhattan Mormon Temple on Columbus Avenue.

There have been numerous media reports about how individual Mormons gave mega millions to the Yes to Prop 8 campaign at the encouragement of Church leadership. Unfortunately, many Orthodox rabbis, Catholic priests, Pentecostal ministers, and Baptist preachers have done the same, not just in California but in other states' anti-gay ballot initiatives, or to help elect anti-gay candidates here in New York.

This is why I really liked the call to action by Dustin Lance Black and Cleve Jones -- it asks each of us what we can do to advance all civil rights:"There are rare moments in human history when, suddenly and unexpectedly, the opportunity for great change and progress becomes possible. Barack Obama has shown us the power of hope and the urgency of seizing that moment. Harvey Milk has shown us the power we possess when we make our voices heard."

Madam Secretary Clinton?

2008-11-14T09:28:00.004-05:00

She's back! I knew Obama wouldn't leave her out. Hillary Clinton is on the short list of Secretary of State candidates. Andrea Mitchell broke the story last night, and everyone else has picked it up today. (Rachel Maddow has a segment on this that you can listen to over in The Media Bar.)

Reuters:

Sen. Hillary Clinton emerged on Thursday as a candidate to be U.S. secretary of state for Barack Obama, months after he defeated her in an intense contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Putting Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, in the position could help heal whatever lingering divisions remain in the Democratic Party after her bitter battle with Obama.

The New York Times

Will it take a top cabinet post, namely the job of Secretary of State, to finally heal the rift between President-elect Barack Obama and his former opponent Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton?

The Associated Press, quoting unnamed Democratic officials, reports that Mrs. Clinton is among the candidates Mr. Obama has his eye on to be America’s chief diplomat during his first term. As the A.P. notes, other contenders include Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator John Kerry and New Mexico’s Gov. Bill Richardson.

Politico:

Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of state, a move that would create the ultimate “Team of Rivals” Cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions.

President-elect Obama has narrowed the possibilities for secretary of state, and Clinton is among those being strongly considered, the officials said. Some even call her the favorite.

A possible clue to Obama’s willingness to consider Clinton for chief diplomat can be found in a January interview he gave to Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” As part of her “Primary Questions” series, she asked him what books besides the Bible he would considers essential if he were elected president.

“Doris Kearns Goodwin's book ‘Team of Rivals,’” Obama replied. “It was a biography of Lincoln. And she talks about Lincoln's capacity to bring opponents of his and people who have run against him in his cabinet. And he was confident enough to be willing to have these dissenting voices and confident enough to listen to the American people and push them outside of their comfort zone. And I think that part of what I want to do as president is push Americans a little bit outside of their comfort zone. It's a remarkable study in leadership.”

. . . Clinton would be most attractive if Obama concludes that he will have to focus his early days in office on the domestic economy, and will have to essentially outsource heavy-duty foreign travel to his secretary of state.

I think the "Team of Rivals" goes a long way in helping to predict what Obama will do. Doris Kearns Goodwin is just that good. If selected, Hillary Clinton would be the hightest ranking member of the Cabinet.

"Milk" Writer Says Now Is The Time

2008-11-14T08:48:00.005-05:00

"Milk" writer Dustin Lance Black has written a gay call to action with Cleve Jones. They are calling for seven weeks of nationwide civil disobedience: "We call on all supporters of equality to sustain and intensify the nationwide campaign of mass protests and non-violent civil disobedience, for seven weeks, starting on November 27, 2008, the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk, and to then gather together in mass, from all corners of our country, in Washington, DC on the morning of Tuesday, January 20, 2009, to honor the inauguration of our President, Barack Obama."

This is amazing. Amazing amazing. A call to action that unites us. Read the written statement below. And when you've finished reading it, go to
Seven Weeks To Equality and sign the petition.

On November 27, 1978, gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk was assassinated in San Francisco City Hall. Thirty years later, his struggle continues.

On November 4, 2008, millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans of all races proudly cast their ballots for Barack Obama, helping to elect the first African-American President of the United States.

On that same day voters in Arizona, Arkansas, California and Florida approved initiatives denying basic civil rights to GLBT citizens.

Like other Americans who voted for Barack Obama, gay people of all backgrounds supported our President-elect because we share his vision of a united America and want to move forward to address the critical challenges facing our country and our planet.

We have always been willing to serve our country: in our armed forces, even as we were threatened with courts-martial and dishonor; as teachers, even as we were slandered and libeled; as parents and foster parents struggling to support our children; as doctors and nurses caring for patients in a broken health care system; as artists, writers and musicians; as workers in factories and hotels, on farms and in office buildings; we have always served and loved our country.

Continued after the jump.

We have loved our country even as we have been subjected to discrimination, harassment and violence at the hands of our countrymen. We have loved God, even as we were rejected and abandoned by religious leaders, our churches, synagogues and mosques. We have loved democracy, even as we witnessed the ballot box used to deny us our rights.

We have always kept faith with the American people, our neighbors, co-workers, friends and families. But today that faith is tested and we find ourselves at a crossroad in history.

Like Barack Obama, we never abandoned hope in the American dream of equality and freedom. We never stopped believing that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights included us.

We have always kept faith with the American people, our neighbors, co-workers, friends and families. But today that faith is tested and we find ourselves at a crossroad in history.

Will we move forward together? Will we affirm that the American dream is alive and real? Will we finally guarantee full equality under the law for all Americans? Or will we surrender to the worst, most divisive appeals to bigotry, ignorance and fear?

It has been thirty years since Harvey Milk gave his life in our struggle for equality. We will not wait thirty years more. We demand that the Federal Government act immediately, decisively and unequivocally to ensure equal protection under law throughout the United States of America.

We can accept no compromise.

We call on President-Elect Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to draft and submit to the Congress comprehensive legislation protecting the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens in all areas including civil marriage, military service, adoption, social security, taxation, immigration, employment, housing and access to health care, social services and education.

We can wait no longer.

We call on President-Elect Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to speak out against the escalating campaign of harassment, violence and murder directed against our communities and pass legislation extending hate-crime protections to GLBT citizens.

Now is the time.

We call on President-Elect Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to take personal responsibility for involving our nation’s religious leaders and the GLBT community in a national dialogue to encourage understanding and reconciliation.

We also call on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to heed the call of Harvey Milk, when he spoke thirty years ago on the steps of San Francisco City Hall: “You must come out, my brothers and sisters, you must come out!”

We call on gay people everywhere to seize this moment, to understand that freedom will not come until we are willing to commit the full strength of our own voices, minds and bodies to the struggle. We must personally introduce ourselves to those who would discriminate against us. We must make ourselves visible.

We call on all supporters of equality to sustain and intensify the nationwide campaign of mass protests and non-violent civil disobedience, for seven weeks, starting on November 27, 2008, the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk, and to then gather together in mass, from all corners of our country, in Washington, DC on the morning of Tuesday, January 20, 2009, to honor the inauguration of our President, Barack Obama.

We call on all our people and all our allies to carry this message of hope and equality to every corner of our nation, to every place of worship, to every school and factory and shopping center, every city, suburb and farming town. We call on you to march together, demonstrate together, pray together and dream together of a future America where, finally, all are free.

There are rare moments in human history when, suddenly and unexpectedly, the opportunity for great change and progress becomes possible. Barack Obama has shown us the power of hope and the urgency of seizing that moment. Harvey Milk has shown us the power we possess when we make our voices heard.

We can accept no compromise.
We can wait no longer.
Now is the time.
We are equal.

Go to
Seven Weeks To Equality and sign the petition.

Rachel Maddow A Pajama-clad Blogger

2008-11-14T08:32:00.004-05:00

I have no idea how I could have missed this! My girlfriend (Rachel Maddow), in response to Sarah Palin's accusation that pajama-wearing bloggers are making things up about her, wears pajamas during her broadcast to show her solidarity with bloggers. She said she's basically a blogger on TV. [Via Think Progress]

Even more Rachel to love.

White Powder Sent To Mormon Temples

2008-11-14T08:16:00.005-05:00

The AP is reporting that a white powder was sent to at least two Mormon temples:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Letters containing a suspicious white powder were sent Thursday to Mormon temples in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City that were the sites of protests against the church's support of California's gay marriage ban.

The temple in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was evacuated before a hazardous materials crew determined the envelope's contents were not toxic, said FBI spokesman Jason Pack.

The temple in downtown Salt Lake City, where the church is based, received a similar envelope containing a white powder that spilled onto a clerk's hand.

The room was decontaminated and the envelope taken by the FBI for testing. The clerk showed no signs of illness, but the scare shut down a building at Temple Square for more than an hour, said Scott Freitag, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

None of the writing on the envelope was threatening, and the church received no calls or messages related to the package, Freitag said.

Protests in recent days have targeted the Mormon church, which encouraged its members to fight the recently passed amendment banning gay marriage in California.

I'm really, really, really hoping that a gay person didn't do this. I think it's worth noting that this was automatically linked to the Prop 8 issue. This is what happens when one minority targets another the way we attacked the Mormons -- we are pitted against each other, possibly physically if this white powder is eventually tied to a gay person, and metaphorically in the minds of the people watching our struggle from the outside.

Audio Espresso

2008-11-14T07:53:00.004-05:00

Wake Up With These!

The Rachel Maddow Show:
1) Madame Secretary Clinton? 2) Alaskan mayor Mayor Begich on the race to 60 3) American killed in Pakistan 4) Executive privilege after stepping down?

The New York Times:
NYT The Front Page 11/14

NPR
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) South African Leader Has Advice For Obama 2) Postcard From Kabul Tells Of Fear And Hope 3) Lipton Gives A Rare Look 'Inside The Actors Studio' 4) Pink Aims For The 'Truth' In New Album

Did you see that?! Pink! My other girlfriend.

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

The Media Bar Is Open!

2008-11-14T07:18:00.006-05:00

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
Kreesha Turner “Don’t Call Me Baby”
This week's #1 Dance Airplay Song
Check out all the #1s in this week's a Chart Attack.

Television:
The Blood Work vlog - the funniest and smartest take on True Blood: "Inspired by Eddie, Jason and Amy's twisted little game of "vampire house", Andy and I decided this week to tie Andy to a lawnchair to discuss Episode 10 of True Blood. Um ... it didn't go so well."

Politics:
The Jogger
A perfect ad for equal rights.
(00:30)

Movies:
From Indiewire: "Director Yair Hochner's 'Antarctica' is set in Tel Aviv and centers on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the crux is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen. Frozen in place, they and their assorted family members and lovers all seek the same thing--a guiding light to show them that love is still out there." Open in LA Friday, November 14. (1:59)

Music Video:
Patti Labelle "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
Let's get good and gay today.

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:

Kreesha Turner “Don’t Call Me Baby”

Television:

The Blood Work vlog - the funniest and smartest take on True Blood

Politics:

The Jogger

Movies:

From Indiewire: Director Yair Hochner's "Antarctica" is set in Tel Aviv and centers on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the crux is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen. Frozen in place, they and their assorted family members and lovers all seek the same thing--a guiding light to show them that love is still out there.

Music Video:

Patti Labelle "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
Let's get good and gay today.

Chart Attack: Billboard News & Moves

2008-11-13T17:16:00.011-05:00

Pork here.

T.I. is livin’ his life . . . at the top of the charts . . . for another week . . . as he’s done for just about every week since this site’s creation. “Live Your Life” does it again and astonishingly claims the Airplay Gainer award in the meantime. T.I.’s also got the No.2 spot locked down still with “Whatever You Like” despite some hardcore pressure from “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry. Kanye West makes a strong entry at No.4 with “Heartless”, his second auto-tuned effort from his upcoming album, 808s & Heartbreak. Meanwhile, Beyonce boringly stays put at No.5 with “If I Were A Boy.” yawn.

The Twilight Soundtrack managed to bump AC/DC down one spot and score the No.1 position on both the Top 200 and the Top Rock Albums while also taking the top honors on the Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums and Top Internet and Digital Albums charts. Twilight is only the third soundtrack this year to go to the top which makes it’s No.1 debut even more notable. In it’s first week it moved 165,000 units . . . and I must say that it moved me too.

T.I. is not looking to lose any honors on the albums charts either and tells John Legend to get to steppin’ after only one week of letting him sit in his Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums throne.

Place your bets now for next week’s highest charting debut: T.I.? David Archuleta? or will Taylor Swift pull off a country coup and twang herself right into the No.1 spot? Stay tuned. (Go, Davey!)

Remember to listen to a new album this week, and never forget to enjoy . . . A View From The Top! A look at what’s sitting atop this week’s Billboard charts, after the jump.

November 22nd, 2008 (week ending)

Singles:
Hot 100: T.I. feat. Rihanna: “Live Your Life”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
Pop 100: Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
Mainstream Top 40: P!nk “So What”
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
Hot Modern Rock Tracks: The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: Metallica “The Day That Never Comes”
Triple A: Coldplay “Lost!”
Hot Rap Tracks: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks: Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks: David Cook “The Time Of My Life”
Hot Digital Songs: Kanye West “Heartless”
Hot Digital Tracks: Kanye West “Heartless”
Rhythmic Top 40: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Hot Dance Club Play: Kreesha Turner “Don’t Call Me Baby”
Hot Dance Airplay: Kim Sozzi “Feel Your Love”
Hot Dance Single Sales: Lady GaGa feat. Colby O’Donis “Just Dance”
Pop 100 Airplay: Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
Hot 100 Airplay: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Hot Singles Sales: Artists Stand Up To Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales: Artists Stand Up To Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
Hot Adult R&B Airplay: Jennifer Hudson “Spotlight”
Hot Singles Recurrents: Natasha Bedingfield “Pocketful Of Sunshine”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents: Noel Gourdin “The River”
Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay: Natasha Bedingfield “Pocketful Of Sunshine”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay: Noel Gourdin “The River”
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles: Keyshia Cole feat. 2Pac “Playa Cardz Right”
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Ryan Leslie “How It Was Supposed To Be”
Hot Ringtones: Katy Perryy “Hot N Cold”
Hot Country Songs: Taylor Swift “Love Story”

Albums:
The Billboard 200 Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
Top Digital Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
Top Rock Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
Top Hard Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
Top Internet Albums: Twilight Soundtrack
Top Independent Albums: Various Artists – Winter Wonderland
Top Electronic Albums: Lady GaGa – The Fame
Top Rap Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
Top Soundtracks: Twilight Soundtrack
Top Cast Albums: Original Broadway Cast Recording – Wicked
Top Country Albums: Brad Paisley - Play
Top Heatseekers: Unk – 2econd Season

…on the international front:
European Hot 100 Singles: Guru Josh Project “Infinity 2008”
European Top 100 Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice

…and…continuing to keep us dreaming:
Hot Holdiay Songs: Bing Crosby “White Christmas”

Whoopi Discusses NYC Prop 8 Protest

2008-11-13T17:06:00.004-05:00

For a complete update on all things Prop 8, check out Towleroad's Prop 8 super post.

Politics Happy Hour

2008-11-13T16:49:00.001-05:00

True Blood Gets A Workup

2008-11-13T16:35:00.005-05:00

For more about this addictive new series, check out the official website.

I've been dying for this. Wait, I didn't mean that pun! Could you imagine! But I have been looking forward to this week's Blood Work Vlog - the best and smartest take on my favorite TV show, "True Blood."

Brian Juergens, the Blood Work co-chair, writes:"Inspired by Eddie, Jason and Amy's twisted little game of "vampire house", Andy and I decided this week to tie Andy to a lawnchair to discuss Episode 10 of True Blood.

Um ... it didn't go so well.

In lighter news, we were delighted to learn that this week the folks at HBO have made Blood Work the featured item on the show's official fan page. We're thrilled to be spreading our foul gospel to more fans of the show, and even more thrilled at the special presents they were kind enough to send us ... which we'll be featuring next week. If you run into any new folks in the darkened hallways of the comments section, do give them a friendly AfterElton welcome!"

The Lady's Brunch Burger Award!

2008-11-13T14:53:00.008-05:00

Today, I am inaugurating a new daily feature here on AKAWilliam.com - The Lady's Brunch Burger Award! Each and every day, the worst person of that day is going to receive between 1 and 5 Lady's Brunch Burgers for saying something homophobic, sexist, racist, or just plain dumb. Whoever the recipient is can take a big ol' bite out of TLBB.

Some of you may be familiar with TLBB, some of you may not be. For those of you unfamiliar with The Lady's Brunch Burger, let me get you up to speed.

Paula Deen, the cheery and rotund Food Network star, is not known, necessarily, for her healthy cuisine. In fact, she has received death threats for some of her recipes. The death threats have (unfortunately) been removed from the Lady's Brunch Burger comments thread of her Food Network site, but here is a sample of what remains in response to her astounding recipe:

"I hope you know a good cardiologist, because you are going to need one if you eat this burger. I am usually amazed when I watch Paula's show. I just can't believe that someone actually cooks with all that butter, mayo, and sugar."

"I was horrified when I watched her making this burger. It made me sick in my stomach."

"Shame on you Food Network! how can you possibly approve this recipe and allow it to be on your network?! "

"I would never make this recipe because I want to live to see my grandchildren."

"Those of us who think that eating such a vulgar, revolting display of saturated fat, obesity-forming, heart-disease-inviting, vile concoction should be allowed equal say."

What could possibly inspire such enthusiastic support of one's health on a site like The Food Network? This:

Yes, you are seeing correctly. The Lady's Brunch Burger is a hamburger topped with eggs fried in butter, topped with cheese, then topped with bacon, then sandwiched between a split Krispy Kreme donut. Syrup is optional.

So, now that everyone is all caught up, who do I think deserves to eat a non-delicious, non-nutritious, life-threatening 1200-calorie Lady's Brunch Burger? And how many Lady's Brunch Burgers do I think this bad, bad, bad person should devour, preferably in one sitting?

After the jump, watch why I'm serving up the inaugural Lady's Brunch Burger Award to . . .
Dennis Miller!

(FF to the last 30 seconds)
For his nasty little homophobic joke about Barney Frank, Dennis Miller gets 2 Lady's Brunch Burgers. Miller, known for his unstoppable mouthiness, took one step too far with this, and that's why he needs to stuff his mouth with . . .

Eat up, Dennis!

Milk's James Franco Talks Prop 8

2008-11-13T14:25:00.005-05:00

In an interview with MTV, James Franco talks Prop 8. The "Milk" actor says about playing a gay man in a relationship, "It's just a relationship." He goes on to show his support for gay marriage.

You know, there is something beautifully haunting about the release of "Milk" (it opens in two weeks) during this protest moment. Defamer had a post last week that asks: "Could an earlier Milk release date have changed anything?" It might have, but I think if we need a movie to rally around, we probably need a leader even more. It's almost like we've gotten used to having Hollywood fight for us. I think we're learning that we're strong enough to fight for ourselves.

Bar Snacks: Sean William Scott's Bare Ass

2008-11-13T13:08:00.006-05:00

Sam Cooke sings "A Change Is Gonna Come." I thought this was triply appropriate. It's simultaneously from Rolling Stone's Top 5 Greatest Singers (see below), a former "Daily Song" here at AKA William, and the song itself is telling us that a change is gonna come. 1, 2, 3. Triple.

Rolling Stone announces The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. The top 5?

1) Aretha Franklin
2) Ray Charles
3) Elvis Presley
4) Sam Cooke
5) John Lennon

Stan Lee to create gay superhero for Showtime. And since it's Showtime, you know we're gonna be seeing some nekkid superhero (like Vampire Bill!). He's going to have the power to heal people. Wait, is Stan Lee gay?

Patrick, one of three members of the self-titled "Team Rainbow" on the new season of Top Chef, packs his knives. Knives, I said.

Enter Gizmodo's Mars Photoshop contest: "Use Photoshop to show us what the Mars Phoenix really discovered that the government doesn't want us to know about."

Michael Moore to make new documentary focusing on the economy

Two new women added to the Saturday Night Live cast

My girlfriend, Rachel Maddow, is not entirely a saint. Not yet, anyway. Last night she had to make some correction to some misinformation she presented earlier in the week in her "Ms. Information" segment. Apparently, she mispronounced the location of the Greenland military base, Thule. She pronounced it "Thool." But it's actually pronounced "Too-lay." Says Ms. Maddow, "Humiliating."

Were we headed for an Ice Age before our oil addiction got us drunk and warmed things up?

Study finds working at work increases productivity

Seann William Scott finally bares his ass in his new movie "Role Models." (Do I have to say NSFW if I already said he bares his ass? Okay, the link is NSFW.)

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-13T12:43:00.006-05:00

Lars Stephan. He's the model and photographer. You can check out his site where you'll get to see all of him in the self-portrait section of his portfolio. (The first page of the site is NSFW, so look before you leap.)

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Two NSFW pics after the jump.

After The Protest - My Thoughts

2008-11-13T10:56:00.005-05:00

I'm listening to Whoopi on The View right now, and she is talking about the protest last night. (Isn't it amazing that so many of us are turning to her right now to see what she says? She has become one of our voices -- more on that later.) Whoopi is saying, "If you don't know how you feel about gay marriage, go out and meet the families, go out and see what it is they really want." Amen.

Last night's protest was bracing. In a lot of ways.

It started at 6:30 (although I hear quite a few people arrive earlier), and I got there around 6:45. A thick river of bundled-up people marched down from the Mormon Temple, bent to file across 61st, and pool in Columbus Circle.

I moved in and out of the marchers, from the street to the curb and back. It was cool out, not yet cold, and serious out. There were alot of people, almost like a parade, but minus, for the most part, the abandon at a parade of a fesitival. Pockets of different chants dotted the route that wound beneath the enormous red CNN sign and headquarter. We were being seen. One of the protest marshalls kept shouting, "We're at 12,000 people! 12,000! Head down 61st! 12,000!"

More after the jump.

When I was deposited in Columbus Circle, I searched for a place to park myself and protest. I moved around, trying to see where the speakers were (I'd heard that Whoopi was going to be speaking), trying to find a place to focus my attention. Almost everyone else was doing the same. Most of the quieter protestors gathered around the more vocal ones, and groups of the chanters and listeners marked each corner of Columbus Circle.

As I roamed from corner to corner, I noticed that there was no real center, no focal point to direct the justified anger and the buzzing energy of the crowd. We had no leader. We have no leader.

Let me say now that I think what Michelangelo Signorile and Corey Johnson, Ann Northrop, and all of the other organizers did was remarkable. And I think the results of what they did have pointed us in a new direction. And that new direction is highlighting the areas we need to work on, as a community.

We are walking through a perfect storm of religion, race, and sexuality. Has this ever happened? And has it ever happened at a moment that has proven that fighting the good fight pays off? We have elected Obama. We know we can make things better. But where do we start?

I think we need to focus on the perfect storm itself. Homosexuality has not inoculated the gay community against the treatable diseases of the larger culture we inhabit. Last night was a very white, very male experience. Why? Why were there so few people of color? Why were there so few women? Why were we focused on what the Mormons did when there are so many other churches equally responsible? (I'm not the only to have noticed this - Andy Humm of The Gay City News noted these issues last night as well.) We don't do anyone any favors by pretending that the gay community is flawless and the rest of the world is evil. We need to address our problems head on so we can figure out how to solve them. And show them how it's done.

Andy Humm also wrote: "No speeches. No leaders. But lots of anger." I think the lack of leadership is what allows for a blurring of our message. The failures of the No on Prop 8 campaign came as much from a fractured gay leadership as it did from plain old bigotry. More from Humm:

Mark Monford, columnist at the Chronicle, called the response of the No side to the attack ads by the Yes people "utterly limp," writing, "As one of my politically savvy Chronicle colleagues put it, 'No on 8 was a bad campaign. Bad, bad, bad. Inept, amateurish, incompetent, and, above all, guilty of committing the first and worst sin of politics: taking the voters for granted."

And Dan Savage, bless his heart, has become a default voice, and he's doing as much harm as help. His "Black Homophobia" post was a bad idea, and his appearance last night on CNN made us look hysterical and unfocused.

We need to keep protesting, keep fighting, and become even more focused.Obama told us to get our own leader. So let's begin that search by leading by example. Let's use the enormous success of last night's protest to give us the energy we will need to make our community what it's always promised to be - a safe place for everyone.

The NYC Protest, On Balance

2008-11-13T10:31:00.006-05:00

For my money, the best and most clear-headed take on last night's protest and the entire Prop 8 response is from Andy Humm over at Gay City News. In the article he posted last night after the protest march, he writes:

No speeches. No leaders. But lots of anger.

Mobilized through social networking sites, an estimated 10,000 people turned out Wednesday night at the Mormon Temple near Lincoln Center in New York to protest the passage of the California amendment eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry and the fact that most of the money for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign came from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - the Mormons.

Corey Johnson, one of the key organizers with Mike Signorile and Ann Northrop, said the turnout "was a tremendous outpouring of grassroots energy and support." He hoped that energy can be harnessed to win marriage equality in New York.

Signorile said, "It's about a right that was taken away, not just marriage." He wants those energized to demand all of our civil rights and that Mormon-owned companies such as Marriott "stop giving money to the Church."

Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel said, "The spirit of ACT UP is in the air."

After the jump, how the religous vote really broke.

The biggest last minute change in how people polled and how they voted, DiCamillo wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, was among Catholics, who are about 24 of the electorate and whom late polls showed going 44 percent for the measure.

"However," he wrote, "the network polls showed that they accounted for 30 percent of the California electorate and 64 percent of them voted 'yes.' Regular churchgoers showed a similar movement toward the 'yes' side," growing from 74 percent yes in a pre-election poll to 84 percent yes in the exit poll.

Notably, the pre-election poll showed that 58 percent of Catholics understood that voting yes would not take away the full domestic partner rights that gay couples enjoyed before the court ruling "versus 47 percent among non-Catholics." Many Catholics seem to have been swayed by a letter from their bishops read from most pulpits on the Sunday before the vote.

While that may explain whose votes were moved and why, it does not offer a fuller view of the No campaign's failure to be more effective. The gay blogosphere was full of reproaches for a campaign that almost entirely refused to feature gays or lesbians or appeal to emotions the way the Yes side did, but the invariable answer from No on 8 leaders during and after the battle was, "We know what we're doing." They insisted their ads were focus-group and field tested and that they worked with the voters that they needed to win over.

The Yes ads may have been lies - about churches being persecuted for not marrying gays and children being taught about gay marriage in elementary school -but they were effective. Even Barbara Walters on "The View" was repeating the Yes on 8 lies after the election, essentially saying that a Yes vote was understandable.

The right wing was also successful in exploiting Barack Obama's opposition to same-sex marriage in mailers and robo-calls, particularly in the African-American community. The No side responded with their own robo-calls citing Obama's opposition to Prop 8, but calls using his and Joe Biden's clear and early comments opposing Prop 8 went out only during the last weekend.

The leaders of the No side acknowledged that they did not make a serious outreach to the African-American community and did not feature blacks in their ads. After the campaign they wrote, "We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight. We only further divide our state if we attempt to blame people of faith, African-American voters, rural communities, and others for this loss."

NYC Prop 8 Protest Links

2008-11-13T09:24:00.006-05:00

boy culture has an extensive picto-history from last night's NYC Prop 8 protest.

The Village Voice blog has more pics and a breakdown

Boy in Bushwick came out and marched

Joe.My.God. was there as well.

Michelangelo Signorile sums up the evening:

Corey Johnson did a phenomenal job organizing the protest, doing all the legwork and working nonstop for several days. Don't forget that we came up with the idea for this protest -- Corey and lesbian activist Ann Northop and I -- on instant message and on telephone late on Saturday night. We put it up on Facebook and then it just blew up. Ten years ago we'd work in ACT UP for six months to get maybe two thousand people to demonstration. With this one, within five days 10,000 to 15,000 , as most reports seem to concur, were inspired to show up and voice their concerns at the Mormon Church for its having raised 20 million dollars to pass Prop 8. Enormous thanks to ACT UP veterans who saw this thing growing, realized it could be a big success or a big disaster if not properly executed, and jumped in to help with logistics, police negotiations, marshall training and media relations: Brian Zabcik, Jay Blotcher, John Voelker, Drew Beaver and Ron Goldberg.

After expressing our outrage at the Mormon leadership at the temple, we marched down Broadway to Columbus Circle, with those at the front carrying a 70-foot banner created by rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker. Looking back you could see the crowd going back for blocks.

I was absolutely blown away by the turnout and so excited to see so many new, young faces. I think Prop 8 has galvanized a generation, spawning new activists in a way nothing else has.

NYC Prop 8 Protest Video

2008-11-13T08:53:00.003-05:00

1) Whoopi Goldberg at the NYC Prop 8 Protest (via boyculture)(6:31)
2) Dan Savage and Tony Perkins on Anderson Cooper (8:53)
3) Protestor video from inside the march headed to Columbus Circle (6:50)
4) Protestor Video of the Mormon Temple (3:14)

I was there last night as well. I'll be posting about what I saw and heard as soon as I can.

Audio Espresso

2008-11-13T08:27:00.003-05:00

Wake Up To These!

The Rachel Maddow Show
1) Obama optimism 2) Web Only - Say What, Mr. President 3) Obama drama 4) Gotta have faith 5) Game still on!

The New York Times
NYT The Front Page 11/13

NPR
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) Latinos Increasingly Targeted For Hate Crimes 2) Love It Or Hate It?: The Fashion Sense Of Michelle Obama 3) Black Finance Guru Weighs In On Financial Crisis 4) In Your Ear: James Lipton

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

The Media Bar Is Open!

2008-11-13T07:17:00.011-05:00

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
Frankmusik - 3 Little Words (A1 Bassline Remix)

Television:
MADtv has been canceled after 14 years and will go off the air at the end of this year. So here's some straight-boy-on-straight-boy action from the show from a few years back to commemorate (celebrate?) the show's cancellation.

Politics:
Refuse to Hate is the first and ONLY pro-gay-marriage ad I've seen that blends gay marriage with civil rights. And a little bit of humor. Thanks, Pork.

Movies:
From Indiewire: "Director Yair Hochner's 'Antarctica' is set in Tel Aviv and centers on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the crux is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who
both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen. Frozen in place, they and their assorted family members and lovers all seek the same thing--a guiding light to show them that love is still out there." Opens in Los Angeles Friday, November 14 with other cities to follow.

Music Video:
David Archuleta on The Tonight Show sings "Crush"

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:

Frankmusik - 3 Little Words (A1 Bassline Remix)

Television:

MADtv has been canceled after 14 years and will go off the air at the end of this year. So here's some straight-boy-on-straight-boy action from the show from a few years back to commemorate (celebrate?) the show's cancellation.

Politics:

Refuse to Hate from Refuse to Hate on Vimeo.

Movies:

From Indiewire: Director Yair Hochner's "Antarctica" is set in Tel Aviv and centers on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the crux is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen. Frozen in place, they and their assorted family members and lovers all seek the same thing--a guiding light to show them that love is still out there.

Music Video:

David Archuleta on The Tonight Show sings "Crush"

Politics Happy Hour

2008-11-12T17:11:00.001-05:00

Bar Snacks: Madonna, Money, Nature

2008-11-12T16:21:00.004-05:00

Madonna loves her some gay marriage!

Hip Hop artist Trick Trick doesn't want our faggot money.

Heroes posts lowest ratings ever. And it deserves its super bad ratings. I caught ten minutes of it the other night, and it was like watching an episode of Days of Our Lives. From 1984.

American Idol contestant found dead outside Paula Abdul's home

Nature really is good for the brain

Roseanne hates the hate, too

Whoopi Goldberg To Be At NYC Protest

2008-11-12T15:03:00.009-05:00

I just heard on Michelangelo Signorile's Air America radio show that Whoopi Goldberg is going to be speaking at the protest tonight once the march reaches Columbus Circle. Whoopi has maintained an admirably clear head in all of this.

I've said this before - an African-American woman speaking about gay civil rights is a powerful and poignant instrument of civil rights.

This got me thinking about Jasmyne Cannick, an African-American woman who writes for The Daily Voice: Black America's Daily News Source. Jasmyne has a post today that suggests African-Americans were not correctly targeted in the No on Prop 8 ads: "So let's recap, no Black people for the No on 8 campaign ads (using Samuel Jackson's voice doesn't count) and Black people in the Yes on 8 campaign ads. And Black people made up 69 percent of the Yes vote you say?" Cannick writes in an article in the SF Chronicle:

I am a perfect example of why the fight against Proposition 8, which amends California's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, failed to win black support. I am black. I am a political activist who cares deeply about social justice issues. I am a lesbian. This year, I canvassed the streets of South Los Angeles and Compton, knocking on doors, talking politics to passers-by and working as I never had before to ensure a large voter turnout among African Americans. But even I wasn't inspired to encourage black people to vote against the proposition.

The blame for the failure lies with all of us. The No on Prop 8 committee failed in its approach to get the right information to the right people. The LA Times asks, "Where were the gay leaders? It's hard to imagine the civil rights movement of the 1960s succeeding without Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X, or to imagine the women's suffrage movement without the likes of Susan B. Anthony."

Below, is the video accompanying Jasmyne Cannick's post. It shows how the idea of gay marriage as a component of civil rights was twisted and re-shaped into something almost unrecognizable. Let me be clear - I am not saying in any way that African-Americans are to blame for the passing of Prop 8. This video is an indication of how some of those who favored it viewed its relation to civil rights. Imagine if there had been a similar ad that was AGAINST Prop 8?

AKA What You're Looking For

2008-11-12T14:41:00.003-05:00

Here's a list of the the Top 10 searches on Google for today. What's up with the ACT results? Did the results just get released today?

1. act scores

2. act student

3. actstudent.org

4. act.org

5. act login

6. flu tracker

7. golden jubilee canada

8. eppicard

9. rev. jim jones

10. act test

And here's something crazy. With all these top 10ers being about ACT scores, I thought I'd see why Rev. Jim Jones was getting so much Google attention. (I know there was a special the other night on MSNBC on the Jonestown Massacre for the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, but that's about it.) So I Googled Rev. Jim Jones, and I got taken to the Wikipedia entry. In that entry I came across this:

Harvey Milk, who spoke at political rallies at the Temple, and wrote to Jones after a visit to the Temple: "Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave."

Harvey Milk? At the Peoples Temple? Whoa.

Bill O'Reilly Has A . . . Point?

2008-11-12T13:17:00.008-05:00

I feel a little sick to my stomach even thinking about it, but Bill O'Reilly has a point. Now, obviously, I don't believe gays should be targeting black churches, but by that same logic, I don't believe that we should be specifically targeting Mormon churches, either. Let's stand in front of Catholic churches, Mormon churches, black churches, and Latino churches and make a broader, less bullying statement.

As yet, there is no consensus about who is to blame for Prop 8's passing, which probably means that the blame should be spread around to every voter who voted in favor of Prop 8.

Bill Marriott, the Mormon CEO of Marriott hotels, has issued a statement:

As many of you may know I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some might conclude given my family's membership in the Mormon Church that our company supported the recent ballot initiative to ban same sex marriage in California. This is simply untrue. Marriott International is a public company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is not controlled by any one individual or family. Neither I, nor the company, contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8.

This is an opportunity for us, the gay community, to demonstrate that our hard-fought wins and losses have made us sensitive to the struggles of ALL minorities. Right now, the Mormons are an easy target for our rage, but that does not mean that an easy target should be the only target.

The full statement after the jump.

The Bible that I love teaches me about honesty, integrity and unconditional love for all people. But beyond that, I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business.

I am personally motivated to speak now because Marriott was built on the basic principles of respect and inclusion. My father, who founded this company along with my mother, told everyone who would listen: "Take care of your employees, and they'll take care of your customers, who will come back again and again."

For more than 80 years, our company has grown and changed, but that basic principle still holds up. We embrace all people as our customers, associates, owners and franchisees regardless of race, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Our principle is backed up with a formal diversity program, which we established more than 20 years ago. Our Board of Directors has also focused on this priority and helped us be a leader and a better company. We were among the first in our industry to offer domestic partner benefits, and we've earned a perfect 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for two years in a row. Many of our hotels have hosted LGBT community functions and events for years.

I am very proud of all of our associates at Marriott. And I want all our associates and guests, whom we welcome into our hotels, to know that we embrace your talents and thank you for your many contributions and your business.

NYC Equal Rights Protest

2008-11-12T12:48:00.006-05:00

This is the tactic I was hoping for. The protest is morphing from an anti-Mormon firing squad into a more general protest for equal rights.

Andy Towle of Towleroad writes:

Last night I attended a meeting of NYC protest organizers and marshals in preparation for tonight's peaceful demonstration which begins at Manhattan's Mormon Temple at 6:30 pm. The protest was organized in response to the passage in California of Proposition 8 and has taken on the more general demand for equal rights and marriage equality for LGBT citizens across the nation . . . it will begin at the Manhattan Mormon Temple location, and at some point, as the location reaches capacity, slowly march down Broadway toward Columbus Circle.

Michelangelo Signorile writes:

Let's not be anti-religious bigots and, as you've heard me many times talk about on the show, let's not engage in this divisive race-blaming game. And it should also go without saying -- but sadly, must be said again and again --- no ugly racist rhetoric.

And Mark Oshiro, who was arrested at the LA Mormon Temple protest, has a few tips as well:

Don't be anti-religious bigots, for one. Protest a church's involvement in an election and protest their contribution to passing Prop 8. But don't turn it into a free-for-all on that church's tenets or members. One, it makes absolutely no sense to do that. Why protest the Mormon church's practice of polygamy, which was outlawed AGES AGO? It's no longer relevant. Why protest anything else they believe in? Protest what they did, not who they are.

Don't be racist. While I don't agree with the number of "70%" when it comes to how many people in the black community voted for Prop 8, there's no denying the rampant homophobia that runs through that community. But holy fuck, please do not turn this into a racist tirade against black people. Not only is it not the point of the protest, but you're perpetrating the same hatred and ignorance you're charging them with. Grow up and be mature about your charges against them. Again, protest what they did, not who they are. [Via Queerty]

Dan Savage On The Colbert Report

2008-11-12T12:11:00.006-05:00

Stephen Colbert gives a great overview of the Prop 8 conflict. Colbert says it's "gays versus blacks, blacks versus gays, and black gays versus themselves." Dan Savage backpedals a bit from his original stance (the link to his article "Black Homophobia" is no longer working - Rod 2.0 blasts Savage for this) and, in a nod to Nate Silver, says it's old people who are really to blame. Savage says it's now Gay Survivor because we are going to "outlive, outlast, and outsmart the bigots."

Yes, Mormons played their part, but if it's now old people who are to blame, why are we not organizing protests outside of nursing homes?

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-12T11:16:00.009-05:00

I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of the model kind of sexiness, but can I just say that I love this boy? Model Mateus Verdelho.

Click thumbnails to enlarge. A few more NSFW-ish pics after the jump.

Brad Pitt Manhandled By Man

2008-11-12T10:18:00.005-05:00

At the premiere of his new movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt was mistaken for a paparazzo and nearly escorted out of the theater. I don't know why this is so funny to me. That's not true. I do (just not in California). It's the New York Post's blow-by-blow description:

A dressed-down Brad Pitt - sporting a '70s mustache and a fuzzy Alpine hat - was groped, poked, prodded and nearly tossed out of the premiere of his new movie by an overaggressive bouncer who appeared not to recognize him. Pitt . . . was pushed around like a perp in front of horrified witnesses. The security guard grabbed Pitt's right arm, spun him around, then grabbed his left arm and tried to pin him to the wall, stunned witnesses said.

Sounds kinda hot.

The Republican Ticket Reunited (Sorta)

2008-11-12T10:01:00.003-05:00

Matt Lauer interviews Sarah Palin on The Today Show yesterday. Nothing unexpected, but I think it's notable that she appeared on The Today Show on the same day that John McCain appeared on The Tonight Show. For all that talk of in-fighting on the Republican side, this speaks to at least some coordination between the two camps. McCain on Leno below. (He was a lot funnier than Palin, although I suppose he can afford to be.) Via The Daily Beast.

Save Marriage, End Divorce!

2008-11-12T09:50:00.003-05:00

Wouldn't that be a great chant at tonight's NYC Prop 8 protest? "Save Marriage, End Divorce! Save Marriage, End Divorce!"

The Upright Citizens Brigade has a new PSA on Funny or Die! for the next logical steps in the fight to save marriage. They took a page out of SNL's book and used their target's own words to make a pretty amazing point.

Lindsay Lohan Voted for "Colored" Pres

2008-11-12T09:37:00.004-05:00

This is unfortunate. In one of her first interviews in nearly a year, Lindsay Lohan, a vocal and ardent Obama supporter, referred to President-elect Obama as "our first colored President." Obviously, this is a reflection of her ignorance and not an indication of any racism. As the post-election world unfolds, that meme (ignorance vs. intention) keeps cropping up. (Most noticably with the Prop 8 fallout.) This election has shined a big ol' spotlight on a lot of the darker corners that discrimination has scuttled into.

Man, she just keeps stepping in it. Maybe Lohan meant, "I'm very excited to have our first President of color."

Darren Hayes Truly, Madly Married

2008-11-12T09:18:00.005-05:00

Darren Hayes, the Australian singer who has done his part to make the world a gayer, better place, has Myspace-blogged some of his thoughts on the passing of Prop 8:

This is a picture of Richard and I recently in Paris.[photo by Maggz Appleton] We're married. Some folks in California decided to change the American Constitution to legislate that this right should not be given to gay people in California. Presumably because of what gay people will do to the definition of marriage.

Just so we are clear, this is our definition of marriage:
We want to grow old together. We love each other so much that we want to share our lives together, forever. We are monogamous. We're faithful. We're in it for the long haul. Sometimes we argue over who's turn it is to make a cup of tea, but for the most
part we are soul mates.

If, God forbid, one of us should fall ill, one of us will take care of the other one. If, God forbid, one of us should pass away suddenly, we would want our estate to go to the one of us who survives. We'd like other stuff too, like, you know, the same tax breaks as other married couples and the civil rights you would extend any other committed couple in the free world. And to be able to be respected and receive the same rights that everyone else has.

But mostly, we just want to grow old together.

Who knew I was so romantic? Between this and the Boyzone video, I am one power ballad away from calling up my ex (any of them) and proposing.

Connecticut Gay Marriage Starts Today

2008-11-12T08:56:00.005-05:00

Gay Marriage takes a step in the right direction (and one that does not require a protest or a march) in Connecticut today. The Washington Blade reports:

Superior Court Judge Jonathan Silbert has scheduled a hearing at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday in New Haven to enter the final judgment in the case that allows same-sex marriages in Connecticut. Once completed, couples can pick up marriage license forms at town and city clerk's offices.

Connecticut state Rep. Beth Bye and her partner Tracey Wilson hope to make history on Wednesday by becoming the first gay couple to marry in their town of West Hartford.

For Wilson, it's not just a personal milestone, but a professional one as well. She's the town's historian.

"She'd love to be the first one in town," joked Bye, who spent hours as a lawmaker listening to testimony on the marriage issue and ultimately helping to shepherd Connecticut's 2005 civil union law through the General Assembly.

In New Jersey, the third leg of the tri-state area, gay marriage remains near.

Boyzone Boy Band Features Gay Lovin'

2008-11-12T08:08:00.009-05:00

The new video "Better" from Boyzone, features a gay couple among the other heterosexual ones. The The BBC writes:

Boyzone have become the first boyband to feature a gay couple in their video. Singer Stephen Gately teams up with a male actor for the touchy feely scenes in their latest single Better.

The other Boyzone members are paired with girls but Stephen, who came out in 1999 and is in a civil partnership, wanted things to be different. He told Newsbeat: "For me, it's just me being me and I don't think there should be a real big issue about the whole thing anyway."

It's a sweet, slightly overwrought, but, yeah, romantic song.

(Update: If the video won't play, click on the player to be taken to the Youtube site, then click on "play in hi-def." That should work for you.)

Prop 8 Myths and Missteps

2008-11-12T07:36:00.003-05:00

Nate Silver, the polling superhero of FiveThirtyEight.com, dispels some of the myths about why Prop 8 passed:

Now, it's true that if new voters had voted against Prop 8 at the same rates that they voted for Obama, the measure probably would have failed. But that does not mean that the new voters were harmful on balance -- they were helpful on balance. If California's electorate had been the same as it was in 2004, Prop 8 would have passed by a wider margin . . . At the end of the day, Prop 8's passage was more a generational matter than a racial one. If nobody over the age of 65 had voted, Prop 8 would have failed by a point or two. It appears that the generational splits may be larger within minority communities than among whites, although the data on this is sketchy.

The good news for supporters of marriage equity is that -- and there's no polite way to put this -- the older voters aren't going to be around for all that much longer, and they'll gradually be cycled out and replaced by younger voters who grew up in a more tolerant era. Everyone knew going in that Prop 8 was going to be a photo finish -- California might be just progressive enough and 2008 might be just soon enough for the voters to affirm marriage equity. Or, it might fall just short, which is what happened. But two or four or six or eight years from now, it will get across the finish line.

This is pretty much in line with what Michelangelo Signorile has been saying. We are, relatively speaking, a young movement, and we need to be patient, and we need to keep fighting.

And as we keep fighting, especially as the protests continue, is that these are supposed to be peaceful protests. Via Joe.My.God, here is footage of a protest rally in Palm Springs. A Prop 8 proponent, an elderly woman carrying a large cross, is surrounded by a group of gay men who try to interrupt her interview. The cross is ripped from her hands, thrown to the ground, and stomped on.

Audio Espresso

2008-11-12T07:09:00.006-05:00

Wake Up With These!

The Rachel Maddow Show
1) Decision 2008+ 2) Who Can Lead the GOP 3) Missing Nuke 4) Veterans Honored 5) Hannah Obama

The New York Times
NYT The Front Page 11/12 (4:37)

The Signorile Show (5:43)
Michelangelo Signorile speaks to a Mormon on Prop 8: "This was my conversation with Nancy from Amarillo, a Mormon who donated money to the Yes on 8 Campaign. She called in after hearing many callers from around the country talking about protesting the Mormon Church for its helping to raise 20 million dollars among its members for Prop 8."
Get more information over at his site.

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can listen while you browse. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

The Media Bar Is Open!

2008-11-12T06:58:00.004-05:00

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
Van She - "Kelly" (Lifelike Remix)

Television:
The second season of "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World" premiered on Logo last night. In this preview Perez Hilton, Arianna Huffington, Andy Towle, and other superbloggers get skewered.

Politics:
Gertrude Baines (born April 6, 1894) is an American supercentenarian who is currently, at age 114, the third-oldest living person in the world. And she voted for Barack Obama.

Movies:
"Chris and Don: A Love Story" The documentary about Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy was nominated for best documentary in the Gotham Independent Film Awards. The legendary gay couple was born thirty years apart and stayed together thirty-three years.

Music Video:
The Hours
"See The Light"
Featuring Sienna Miller

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.
Daily Song:

Television:

The second season of "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World" premiered on Logo last night.

Politics:

Gertrude Baines (born April 6, 1894) is an American supercentenarian who is currently, at age 114, the third-oldest living person in the world. And she voted for Barack Obama.

Movies:

"Chris and Don: A Love Story" The documentary about Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy was nominated for best documentary in the Gotham Independent Film Awards. The legendary gay couple was born thirty years apart and stayed together thirty-three years.

Music Video:

The Hours "See The Light"

Technical Difficulties

2008-11-11T15:26:00.002-05:00

I need to do some more technical maintenance so there will be no more posts today.

But come back first thing in the morning! The Media Bar will be open, and I'll be serving up some Audio Espresso, too!

Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday

2008-11-11T12:44:00.013-05:00

Pork here.

It’s a week where I am full of confessions. First, I’m not able to properly review any of the numerous, notable releases landing in stores today because I simply haven’t had the albums to do so. That being said, the next few days will find me happily ingesting new albums by Tracy Chapman (always a cherished occasion), Grace Jones, Seal and (here comes Confession #2) David Archuleta. Yes, Pork is an Archie . . . er, Arch Angel . . . or whatever people who swoon over Lil’ Davey want to call themselves. (Stay tuned for more in-depth analysis of David’s self-titled debut and Tracy Chapman’s Our Bright Future.)

One confession I’m not afraid to declare is my lack of excitement about one of today’s hottest acts, T-Pain. No matter how many words he can cleverly misspell or how many top 10 hits he stamps with his vocoded signature, I couldn’t be less interested in hearing Thr33 Ringz, his new full length which will most likely be this week’s biggest seller as millions seem to be captivated by this hip-hop clown with the midas touch. T-Pain’s not my cup of "T," and I’m not going to front that he is. I’ll just hope that he and his circus of crunk fall off the map soon so the R&B/Hip-Hop genre recover . . . like it has from reggaeton.

After the jump, Grace Jones, Seal, and, you guessed it, Vanilla Ice! Plus, The List of all new releases for Tuesday, November 11, 2008.

Enough with what doesn’t make my blood rush. It’s time to put some Grace in your face . . . and ears. Grace Jones storms back with a full-fledged Hurricane, her first album in nearly 2 decades. Get a taste of “Corporate Cannibal”, the lead single and video, and you’re likely to be as captivated and hungry for more as I was. Riding the perfect balance of sexy and scary, Grace quickly reminds you that it’s “[her] rules, you fools” with a delivery so slinky and distinct that you must submit to this “man-eating machine.” I can’t wait to see what else Grace has got on her plate. Check out “Corporate Cannibal” in today’s Media Bar as the featured Music Video of the Day.

I haven’t heard Seal’s Soul, but I must say that the idea of him spinning his vocal abilities all over some legendary soul classics is a no-brainer that has the potential to be a smash. I must say I’m more than a bit worried about his decision to give the production responsibilities to David Foster, famous for (over)producing Celine Dion, Michael Bolton and Barbra Streisand. This is supposed to be a soul classics record. Hell, it’s called Soul! I’ve got my fingers crossed that his bombastic, slick production won’t shellac the sessions with schmaltz and suck the soul out of Seal’s groove.

Proving that real cover-album dreams can come true, Vanilla Ice Is Back! gives you no less than 9 covers of “hip hop classics” (think “Baby Got Back” and “Jump Around”) by Mr. Van Winkle himself along with 4 “Ice Ice Baby” revisits. White hot.

(Take a little time and enjoy . . . ) The List:

All New Music Releases - November 11th, 2008

David Archuleta – David Archuleta
Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise – Out of the Wilderness
Tracy Chapman – Our Bright Future
Deborah Cox – The Promise
Enya – And Winter Came
Grace Jones – Hurricane
Live – Live at the Paradiso (DVD/CD)
The Police – The Police: Certifiable (DVD/CD)
Musiq Soulchild – On My Radio
Seal – Soul
Smashing Pumpkins – If All Goes Wrong (DVD)*
Taylor Swift – Fearless
T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz
Vanilla Ice – Vanilla Ice Is Back! Hip Hop Classics
Butch Walker – Sycamore Meadows
Various Artists – Now That’s What I Call Music! 29
Various Artists – Zack and Miri Make a Porno(Soundtrack)

Greatest Hits, Box Sets, Re-Issues and Re-Masters by: Abba, Christina Aguilera, Patti Austin, Bad Company, Natasha Bedingfiled, Bee Gees, Big Mountain, Boney M., Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Dio, Hilary Duff, Aretha Franklin, Genesis, Enrique Iglesias, Jurssic 5, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin*, New Order* (5 Collector’s Edition Re-Issues!), The Osmonds, Gilda Radner, Cliff Richard, Carly Simon, Sister Sledge, The Smiths*.

Look any closer and you’ll find new music from Billy Bob Thornton and Kevin Costner. Yes, you read that correctly. Consider yourself warned.

* = acceptable Christmas presents for Pork.

A Good Stiff One

2008-11-11T11:19:00.005-05:00

Via Charmants some sexy Russian boys from Russian photographer Alex Bego.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Three NSFW-ish pics after the jump.