Okay, I am closing shop for the rest of the day. I need to work on a few last-minute tech issues before our World Premiere on Monday. We've been in Beta mode for the past few weeks, but we are going to be good to go on Monday, November 3, 2008!
But before you go and have a drunken, costumed, dirty weekend be sure to check out a naked Brent Corrigan over in The Media Bar. (Yeah, it's NSFW, but it's the weekend right?) And you gotta listen to my girlfriend Rachel Maddow's ENTIRE show in Audio Espresso. And today's posts cover how we're gay in "Gay Sex DOES Make Babies" to some more nekkid boys in "A Good Stiff One" so make sure you scroll down a bit and see what's going on.
So come back in three short days to be at the official launch of AKAWilliam.com! All kinds of gay? Yup. Because it takes all kinds.
Happy Halloween!
The Economist has an article with a new twist on efforts to understand the evolutionary implications of homosexuality. (I'm sure y'all don't need me to tell you that gay sex is not all that successful on the reproductive front.) A few years ago, there were some studies that demonstrated a link between male homosexuality and female fecundity. There was also a study that found that the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he is to be gay. As well as left-handedness being more likely among gay people. But this new study is saying this:
[Brendan Zietsch of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, and his colleagues] think that genes which cause men to be more feminine in appearance, outlook and behaviour and those that make women more masculine in those attributes, confer reproductive advantages as long as they do not push the individual possessing them all the way to homosexuality.If a woman prefers a long-term relationship with a slightly feminized man and slightly masculinized women have more sex partners then what I am inferring from this little bit of information is that female mate choice is driving the existence of homosexuality. Wait, does that mean that our moms DID make us gay?!
There are also data which suggest that having a more feminine personality might indeed give a heterosexual male an advantage. Though women prefer traditionally macho men at the time in their menstrual cycles when they are most fertile, at other times they are more attracted to those with feminine traits such as tenderness, considerateness and kindness, as well as those with feminised faces.
. . . When the relationships between twins were included in the statistical analysis (all genes in common for identical twins; a 50%overlap for the non-identical) the team was able to show that both atypical gender identity and its influence on the number of people of the opposite sex an individual claimed to have seduced were under a significant amount of genetic control. More directly, the study showed that heterosexuals with a homosexual twin tend to have more sexual partners than heterosexuals with a heterosexual twin.
Time magazine has an article called "The Gay Mafia That's Redefining Liberal Politics."
Among gay activists, the Cabinet [a loosely-connected group of politically active like-minded rich gay people] is revered as a kind of secret gay Super Friends, a homosexual justice league that can quietly swoop in wherever anti-gay candidates are threatening and finance victories for the good guys.What at first sounds like a tongue-in-cheek view of the changes in the gay political landscape begins an attempt to hint at something not-quite-sinister, although the article's author, John Cloud, the most ridiculed reporter in the blogosphere, says, "There's nothing illegal about the Cabinet's coordination of its members' giving, according to Lawrence Noble, campaign-finance expert with the Washington-based firm Skadden, Arps."
Rather than focus on the undertones of the article, I think the article can be used to draw a little bit of attention to how the fight for gay civil rights is changing. We need to know where we're headed as much as where we've been. And we also need to know how the opposition is framing the fight against us. Cloud, despite his creepiness (well-suited to Halloween, and Halloween only) and out-of-touchness (he reads rather quaintly), does manage to ask a few questions that gay people ought to also ask themselves (just to take one's temperature).
And yet the Cabinet is noteworthy not only because its treasure begets political influence but also because its very existence shows how dramatically the culture wars — and liberal politics as a whole — have changed in the past decade . . . the street movement is basically defunct. And increasingly, the center of gay power is moving out from Washington toward the interior — toward powerful foundations like those run by Stryker in Kalamazoo and Gill in Denver.The rest of the article? Probably worth checking out, but only because it's appearing in Time Magazine and lots of people (both for and against civil rights) will come across it. And I think it's really great to know that there is a concerted effort among wealthy gays to fight the good fight. But the article does leave a bad taste in the mouth.
That raises questions: What does a civil rights movement look like in an era of massive wealth? Can you still inspire a grass-roots movement when all the street troops know that the billionaires can just write bigger checks? And is it possible that the left has become a movement as coldly obsessed with money as it always assumed the right was?
Via Charmants: "Southern Boys Telling Men's Stories." I love stories.
I'm still playing around with the sexy boy title. First it was "Sidewalk Sale." Then yesterday it was "Happy Hour." Today it's "A Good Stiff One." That was Pork's idea. I think I might stick with it for a while.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge. And then, after the jump, you can check out some NSFW booty.
Last night, Rachel Maddow, my girlfriend, interviewed Barack Obama. Yes, Rachel, who just a few short months ago was an Air America radio show host that no one really listened to. Now, she is interviewing presidential candidates. And when that interview is over, she cuts to Dan Rather to hear his analysis of her interview of the presidential candidate! I'm thinking Rachel Maddow's ascendant career was cemented by last night's smart interview. Something in Obama's demeanor was appreciative of Maddow. That kind of respect was nice to see.
What was also fantastic to see was Chris Matthews, who is forever consigned to the "B Team" of political commentary, being forced to promote Maddow's interview during his own show! Rachel leap-frogged over his sexist back and landed herself smack in the middle of the "A Team." (I pity the fool Matthews!) Matthews actually said, through clenched teeth, "That's a real get for Rachel. Getting Obama. A real get. That's what we call it in this business, when you get a real scoop. Yeah, a real get." It was the best thing on TV yesterday -- too bad I can't find a clip . . . I'll keep looking.
Those MSNBC players really slow down this site, so I put it after the jump to see if that helps. Definitely check it out. Oh, and can someone please tell me if Obama really does call Rachel "Abbey" by mistake? In response to a question about Afghanistan, I am almost certain he says, "Look, Abbey . . . ."
Watch the second half over at MSNBC.
Wake Up With These:
NPR
Fresh Air
Stories: 1) Cynthia Gorney: Parsing The Politics Of Abortion 2) Mystery Novels, With A Southwestern Flair 3) 'Tell-Tale Signs' Exposes Bob Dylan Bootlegs
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) As Election Day Nears, Poll Data Questioned 2) In Somalia And Congo: Ceasefire, Public Execution 3) Zimbabweans 'Tired' Of Political Bigotry 4) 'AIDS Sutra' Challenges Widespread Denial In India
The New York Times:
NYT The Ethicist 10/31
NYT The Front Page 10/31
The Rachel Maddow Show:
Rachel interviews Barack Obama
Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can browse while you listen. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.
Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.
Daily Song:
Danny Tenaglia
"The Space Dance"
This week's #1 Billboard Dance Song
Television:
The Blood Work Vlog says: "Tacky gay vampires, dirty cemetery sex, ice cream sundaes and more . . . check it all out . . . " Plus, the tell you where to download "True Blood" pumpkin-carving templates.
Movies:
DoorQ, the gay horror website, brings you the scary short "In the Closet," starring Brent Corrigan and JT Tepnapa. Yes. That Brent Corrigan. Featured in Rated-R full frontal NSFW-ness: "You see, sometimes, in order for someone to come out, someone else might have to go back in -- whether they want to or not.
Politics:
"Don't Speak for Me, Sarah Palin" performed to the music of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina!" It's not Halloween scary, but it is very gay.
Music Video:
Smashing Pumpkins
"The End Is The Beginning Is The End"
More Halloween creepiness
Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.
Daily Song:
Danny Tenaglia "The Space Dance"
Television:
The Blood Work Vlog says: "Tacky gay vampires, dirty cemetery sex, ice cream sundaes and more . . . check it all out . . . " Also check out where to download "True Blood" pumpkin-carving templates.
Movies:
DoorQ, the gay horror website, brings you the scary short "In the Closet," starring Brent Corrigan and JT Tepnapa. Yes. That Brent Corrigan. Featured in Rated-R full frontal NSFW-ness: "You see, sometimes, in order for someone to come out, someone else might have to go back in -- whether they want to or not."
Politics:
"Don't Speak for Me, Sarah Palin" performed to the music of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina!"
Music Video:
Smashing Pumpkins
"The End Is The Beginning Is The End"
More Halloween creepiness
History catches up with the GOP
What happens to the loser?
George Stephanopoulos reviews Obama's informercial: "A virtuoso performance"
American "socialism" explained
and "Don't Speak for Me, Sarah Palin!" (to "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina!")
Keith Olbermann's attack of "Joe the Plumber" last night in his "Special Comment" was indefensible. What is he doing going so vehemently after an incidental celebrity like "Joe?" Telling Joe to keep his opinions to himself? Since when is that ever a good idea to tell someone? Don't speak your mind during a critical election?
I've mentioned before that I dislike Keith Olbermann as much as I love Rachel Maddow. Olbermann is so much a counterweight to Bill O'Reilly that he has become Bill O'Reilly. Olbermann is loud and obnxious, and he has become a bully. Joe has a publicist. Big deal. He is trying to capitalize on the fame that was created by people just like Olbermann. But Olbermann (who said, "I don't even have a publicist!") doesn't like a redneck acting above his station. And then Olbermann's list of other people on the the publicist's roster was reprehensible. It was demeaning to the working-class people, and it was demeaning to Democrats who are stuck with Keith Olbermann as a voice.
I never understood the characterization of Democrats as elitist. It always seemed silly to me when the Democratic party is populated by the working-class, people of color, gay people . . . the radical, intellectual elitist left has always seemed to be a boogeyman used to scare people. But when I heard Keith Olbermann last night, I thought, "Ooooh, this is the boogeyman I keep hearing about."
And I'm not the only one who is thinking this:
In a room full of television industry executives, no one seemed inclined to defend MSNBC on Monday for what some were calling its lopsidedly liberal coverage of the presidential election. The cable news channel is "completely out of control," said writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, a self-proclaimed liberal Democrat. She added that she would prefer a lunch date with right-leaning Fox News star Sean Hannity over left-leaning MSNBC star Keith Olbermann.All I can say is Rachel Maddow hasn't come a moment too soon.
The Tyrolean Iceman has offered up another mystery. (The first one being: who stole his genitals?) He is from a human lineage 
that is no longer in existence, and scientists don't know what to make of that.
The so-called Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,000-year-old mummy found in an Alpine glacier roughly two decades ago, lived in an era when people were smelting copper and living in cities. But a recent study of his mitochondrial DNA — circlets of genetic material passed on solely through mothers — revealed something astonishing about this recent human ancestor. He is from a distinct genetic group that mysteriously disappeared. Perhaps no one sharing his genetic lineage survived into the present day. Or perhaps humans are evolving so quickly that even our close ancestors are genetically distinct from us in significant ways.This new information might be in line with recent evidence that human evolution is accelerating.
There was an "The Iceman No Longer Cometh" joke trying to be written here, but it seems kind of mean now that we know he doesn't have any family. Poor guy's been through enough.
Pork here with this week's Chart Attack. Here is a look at this week’s Billboard charts, week ending November 8th, 2008.
Don’t let anyone tell you that the music industry is dead. This week AC/DC decided to experiment with the ailing warhorses that are current-day record stores and allowed their newest release, Black Ice, (their first in 8 years) to only be sold at Wal-mart, Sam’s Club and their own website and they managed to move more than 3/4 of a million units. Their tally of 784,000 copies gives them the second largest opening of the year on the Billboard 200. (Chances are Lil Wayne will take the honor of biggest first-week sales right up until the end of the year since Tha Carter III exploded with 1.005 million units in June). I wonder if AC/DC could’ve possibly bested Lil Wayne if they had made their album available at all retail locations including iTunes, but another part of me thinks that the buzz created by their limited-access release is what helped draw a lot of the attention to the release. Either way, the people have shown that they still love music and they will still pay for it.
Beyoncé and/or Sasha Fierce couldn’t pull off quite the stunt that Britney did a couple weeks back with “Womanizer”, but the first single from I Am Sasha Fierce, “If I Were A Boy” does take an eye-opening leap from 68-3 on the Hot 100. As predicted, not even the mighty B could disturb T.I.’s reign over the top 2 spots as “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life” secure the top two spots on the big chart respectively.
“If I Were A Boy” does manage to knock “Womanizer” off of the top of Hot Digital Songs. Let’s see what Sasha Fierce can do.
Ne-Yo slinks into the No. 1 position on no less than 3 different charts with “Miss Independent.” It’s comforting to see this kind of success from an artist of such substance in this scary age of vocoding and circus tricks in music. I strongly urge you to get your hands (and ears) on a copy of his latest full-length, Year of the Gentleman.
A final congratulations to Danny Tenaglia who lands the No. 1 Hot Dance Club Play track this week with “The Space Dance.” Ten years after “Elements” topped the charts, D.T. proves that if you ‘be yourself,’ you can do whatever you want . . . even in space. :]
And make sure to go over and check out this week's Listen Up (New Music Tuesday). What's sitting atop all of this week's Billboard charts, plus Bing Crosby continues his reign, after the jump.
A View From The Top:
Here is a look at what’s sitting atop this week’s Billboard charts:
November 8th, 2008 (week ending)
Singles:
Hot 100: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
Pop 100: P!nk “So What”
Mainstream Top 40: P!nk “So What”
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
Hot Modern Rock Tracks: The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: Metallica “The Day That Never Comes”
Triple A: O.A.R. “Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
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: Beyonc̩ РIf I Were A Boy
Rhythmic Top 40: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Hot Dance Club Play: Danny Tenaglia “The Space Dance”
Hot Dance Airplay: Ercola & Daniella “Every Word”
Hot Dance Single Sales: M.I.A. “Paper Planes”
Pop 100 Airplay: P!nk “So What
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: Chairlift “Bruises”
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Deborah (Who?) Cox “Did You Ever Love Me”
Hot Ringtones: Grupo Montez De Durango “Adios Amore Te Vas”
Hot Country Songs: Carrie Underwood “Just A Dream”
Albums:
The Billboard 200 Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
Top Digital Albums: Soundtrack – High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Top Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums: Metallica – Death Magnetic
Top Hard Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
Top Independent Albums: Ray LaMontagne – Gossip In The Grain
Top Electronic Albums: M.I.A. – Kala
Top Rap Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
Top Soundtracks: Mamma Mia!
Top Cast Albums: Original Broadway Cast Recording – Wicked
Top Country Albums: Kenny Chesney – Lucky Old Sun
Top Heatseekers: Five Finger Death Punch – The Way Of The Fist
. . . on the international front:
European Hot 100 Singles: P!nk “So What” (go P!nk!)
European Top 100 Albums: Metallica – Death Magnetic
. . . and . . . keeping his top spot like a true P.I.M.P.:
Hot Holdiay Songs: Bing Crosby “White Christmas”
BBC show "Have I Got New for You" investigated for homophobic remarks about Iranian gays
Huffington Post writer in lesbian murder/suicide tragedy
Beyonce hires a tranny back-up dancer?At&T announces that all iPhone users will get free Wi-Fi
The Financial Times calls Rachel Maddow a "chirpy gay liberal" while leaving Matt Drudge's gayness unmentioned.
Study find that the UK's version of "Little Britain" homophobic. Another study will no doubt soon find that the American version is incredibly unfunny.This week's Tennis Mailbag.
Cloris Leachman before "Dancing With The Stars"
"Sidewalk Sale" has been re-named "Happy Hour" because as Pork said, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere." He also suggested that I call these posts "A Good Stiff One." Pork has the best ideas.
I promised something a little bit . . . dirtier today because, well, variety is always a good thing. A modely boy here, an East Village Boy there . . . this EVB is Matthew. Via East Village Boys.
Click thumbnails to enlarge. And check out the two R-rated NSFW pics after the jump.
After Elton, which has become my new favorite website (after this one, of course,) has an interview with the brilliant and beautiful Darryl Stephens, 
star of the "Noah's Arc" television series and now the movie "Noah's Arc - Jumping the Broom."
On why the show was canceled: I will say that I understand that Logo has a lot of people that they‘re trying to appeal to within the LGBTQ community. A show like Noah’s Arc is not the cheapest show to produce. Looking at a show like Shirts & Skins, it’s much more cost-effective for them to do a show like that as opposed to this big narrative with wardrobe budgets and sets and shooting in Vancouver. If they feel like they’re going to make more money on a show that doesn’t cost as much, that’s what the network is going to do.Read the entire interview with Stephen's and his co-star Jensen Atwood.
On the treatment of gay marriage in the movie: The universe of Noah’s Arc really comes from a place where gay is not the issue. The point is that these are people who have friendships and relationships and jobs, and children and issues that everybody else has. The legal and civil rights aspect of gay marriage isn’t even our concern. We’re already established that we’ve gone out of our state to get married. That’s the one nod to how ridiculous that in the United States of America same-sex marriage is not legal in most states.
But beyond that, the movie is about . . . when you’re committing yourself to someone, you’re committing yourself to them in a lifelong loving relationship. You have to deal with all these issues about whether or not you’re ready, about whether or not this person is “the one,” whether or not your friends are going to support you. It’s not really about the fact that these are gay people. Yeah, these are gay characters, yeah, they’re black men, but they’re living the same lives that everyone else in the world is living.
California isn't the only state trying to amend its constitution in order to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Arizona is once again attempting to deprive its citizens of basic human rights. In 2006, that state failed to pass a proposal that would have severely limited civil unions of any kind, including heterosexual ones. Now, Arizona's Prop 102 is attempting a similar, and similarly repulsive, feat. The AP reports:
PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona has been a disappointment to anti-gay marriage activists since 2006, when the state became the first in the nation to reject a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage . . . Although Arizona voters turned down the 2006 measure, there is a big difference between that one and this year's measure, Proposition 102 . . . This year's measure, as its backers point out, is 20 words: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state."
"The simplicity of the amendment is what's going to help it pass," said Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the backers of the anti-gay marriage measure. Those 20 words would be added to the state's constitution if Proposition 102 passes. The state already has a law, enacted in 1996 and upheld in 2003 by a state appellate court, that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Backers say they want the constitutional change because they're trying to prevent judges from legislating from the bench and turning it over.
There was a lot of discussion last night online, on TV, everywhere, about the new McCain ad (you can check it out over in The Media Bar) aired in response to Obama's thirty-minute infomercial. McCain's ad ends by saying that Obama is "not ready . . . yet."
This seemed to stump a lot of the pundits. I'm not entirely sure why. I thought the "yet" was a direct appeal to independents and undecided voters -- the ones most likely to decide the outcome of the election. Most of the independents and undecideds like Obama and, push come to shove, might vote for him based on their like of him alone. The McCain ad is an acknowledgement of Obama's appeal and popularity, and McCain is attempting to reassure those who are swayable by telling them that during this scary time they don't have to feel bad or guilty for not voting for Obama this time around. Yes, he is a great guy, and he will get his turn. Just not yet. Vote for me because I'll make things safe, and then Obama can have his turn in eight years. Jason Zengerle, over at The New Republic blog "The Plank," voices a similar sentiment.
I think that little line tagged on the end of the ad (" . . . yet") is also an acknowledgement that the negative ads are often boomeranging right back to McCain. He has to attack Obama, but can't keep risking the votes he needs most. With one little word, McCain can simultaneously foment his base's fears (of the world, in general) and tap into the lingering doubts of those voters who like Obama but worry about his youth.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW:
That's right -- The MSNBC Rachel Maddow Show in its ENTIRETY. Every single day. My girlfriend Rachel's nightly show is "a smart look at politics, pop culture, and all the day's top stories. It's mind over chatter!" Updated every single day.
NPR:
Fresh Air:
Stories: 1) Seth Meyers' Prime-Time Political Parody 2) '30 Rock': Tina Fey Sitcom Back For a Third Season 3) 'Socialist' Charge Draw On Old Fears
Tell Me More:
Stories: 1) Former Skinhead On Alleged Plot To Kill Obama 2) Count Me Out: Men Tell Of Decision Not To Vote
The New York Times:
The Front Page, 10/30
NYT Tech Talk 10/30
Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can browse while you listen. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.
Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.
Daily Song:
Smashing Pumpkins "Disarm" (Randy Moyer Mix)
Television:
The Blood Work Vlog says, "In this very special episode, my better half Andy and I carve True Blood Jack-O-Lanterns and discuss the latest episode, in which all kinds of crazy crap went down. (If you'd like to make your own Vampire Bill-o-Lantern or Fangtasia Gourd, the templates are available over here.) Tacky gay vampires, dirty cemetery sex, ice cream sundaes and more ... check it all out, after the break!"
Movies:
The Haunting of Molly Hartley - "In this tale of spell binding suspense, something evil lurks just beneath the lush surfaces of teenaged girl’s private school world - and it holds the rights to her very soul. Now, on the eve of her 18th birthday, Molly Hartley is about to discover the truth of just who, or rather what, it is she is destined to become." Uh, yeah. That sounds like a lot going on. This is part of the pre-Halloween theme, and it's also a reason to check out the movie's co-star, Chace Crawford.
Politics:
McCain's ad: "Obama not ready . . . yet." What the hell does that mean? Read my take.
Music Video:
Stevie Nicks performs "Sara" live
Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.
Daily Song:
Television:
In this very special episode, my better half Andy and I carve True Blood Jack-O-Lanterns and discuss the latest episode, in which all kinds of crazy crap went down. (If you'd like to make your own Vampire Bill-o-Lantern or Fangtasia Gourd, the templates are available over here.)Tacky gay vampires, dirty cemetery sex, ice cream sundaes and more ... check it all out, after the break!
http://www.afterelton.com/blog/brianjuergens/blood-work-true-blood-video-blog-vlog-8-pumpkin-guts-muddy-buttocks
Movies:
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
"In this tale of spell binding suspense, something evil lurks just beneath the lush surfaces of teenaged girl’s private school world - and it holds the rights to her very soul. Now, on the eve of her 18th birthday, Molly Hartley is about to discover the truth of just who, or rather what, it is she is destined to become." Uh, yeah. That sounds like a lot going on. This is part of the pre-Halloween theme, and it's also a reason to check out the movie's co-star, Chace Crawford.
Politics:
McCain's ad: "Obama not ready . . . yet." What the hell does that mean? Read my take.
Music Video:
Stevie Nicks performs "Sara" live
Nick Anderson, copyright 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
The mother of Aeryn Gilleran (the gay man who has been missing for a year) returns to Austria to find out what happened to him.
Crist declares voting state of emergency
Elizabeth Dole is getting her ass kicked by Kay Hagan. So this is Dole's hysterical sucker punch. This could be my favorite political commercial. "There is no Go-ud!"
Interactive map of early voting results
Obama informercial a good idea?
Speaking of Joss Whedon, in the new issue of The Advocate, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Tom Lenk comes out. From the interview (via After Elton):
It probably doesn't come as that big of a shock to fans of Buffy that Tom is gay, which probably isn't fair, as no doubt Lenk is capable of playing a wide-range of characters. Nonetheless, Lenk pinged quite a few gaydars including Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who told The Advocate that Andrew hadn't been planned as gay, but when Lenk auditioned they decided to take the character that way since "Tom has a bit of a fey thing going on in his persona that, you know, you can't really deny." . . . Lenk says his coming out now was supposed to be timed to coincide with his first television same-sex kiss.I think Joss should have at least given Tom one dirty sex scene with Spike. Like the one Buffy had with the vampire when they destroyed the house. Willow and Tara were definitely great, but the gayboy geeks who loved the show could've used a little boy-on-vamp something, too. Something like "True Blood!"
A smaller version of Matt Damon than in the picture above talks about the election and the movement in Hollywood to get more involved.
The brilliant Joss Whedon on what happened to "Dollhouse"
Tina Fey to receive $6 million to write a book of comic essaysFA to investigage into anti-gay verbal attacks UK at football games
"The Front Runner" author Patricia Nell Warren calls out the "Yes on Prop 8" crazies
Time Inc. plans to lay off 600
Windows 7 leapfrogs over Vista
After being swung around the dance floor by her arms and legs, 82-year-old Cloris Leachman gives a crazy interview on Good Morning America to talk about the joys of "Cloreography." Why is that just because she's old everything she says is hysterical? The poor girl can't get a word in edge-wise because as soon as she opens her mouth, the people around her bust out laughing.
The View denies backstage screaming matches. That's right. They save their screaming for in front of the camera.
MTV Video Music Awards host Russell Brand suspended from the BBC for prank calls
An article in Newsweek explains how line judges can make those crazy-making line calls that can ruin tennis matches -- "Out!"
Memo to tennis players: because of the way the human visual system works, referees are more likely to call “out” a ball that actually lands in, rather than call “in” a ball that in fact lands outside the line. Now that professional players are permitted to challenge calls, therefore, they would do well to focus on balls that are called “out,” since they are more likely to be wrong.When I play, I'm pretty generous with calling balls in. If it looks even a few inches from the line. I usually just call it in. Looks like calling it in is a good call. Karma meets cognitive science.
So concludes a neat little study published online today in Current Biology. Scientists led by David Whitney of the University of California, Davis, started from the fact that the human visual system consistently misperceives moving objects as shifted in the direction of their motion, making them appear to be farther along their path than they are.
Oh, and the picture of Marat Safin above is just because.
Via Ethan Says, Mischel. I don't know his last name. He's a model. Again. I mean models are pretty much, by definition, really hot, but after all these clean and sweet guys, I think tomorrow I might see if I can find someone a little dirtier and meaner.
Click thumbnails to enlarge.
And, Mischel does get a little dirty in the bonus pics after the jump. (NSFW-ish)
Here we go.
Rachel Maddow gets grossed out by a Republican congressional candidate's use of a sexy breathy-voiced robocall to moan and groan and call incumbent Mike Thompson a "bad boy."
And to give you even more Rachel Maddow-ness, she has Obama booked for tonight! This is amazing! Did I tell you or did I tell you? Rachel Maddow is the new first go-to source for every proud Democrat. (And I think Obama going on Maddow's show is a great opportunity for him to step up and tell voters in California to vote against Prop 8 - something I've been hoping for for a while now.)
Richard Dreyfuss was not having it yesterday on The View. Although he portrayed Dick Chendy in the movie "W." and was booked on The View to, ostensibly, promote the movie, Dreyfuss apparently hates the movie. And possibly Oliver Stone. Via The Huffington Post:"When asked why he made the film, [Dreyfuss] said he did it for 'money.' Dreyfuss also said, 'I think it's 6/8ths of a great film.' Asked how it was to work with Oliver Stone, he said 'imagine working for Sean Hannity... you can be a fascist, even when you're on the left.'"
Watch The View segment in its entirety above.
I bet Oliver Stone and Keith Olbermann might just get along. I think we need some Rachel Maddow to cleanse the palate right about now.
The Washington Blade is reporting that the Connecticut State Supreme Court decision became official on Tuesday October, but there will be a slight delay until the appropriate marriage license applications are printed, shipped and received.
The state Department of Public Health is having new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse." The new forms are expected to be shipped out to city and town clerks later this week.And us gays can tie the knot in Connecticut beginning November 10. It's a start . . . .
Via the AP:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- It was only fitting that "Milk," the film about Harvey Milk's life and death, premiere Tuesday night in the Castro.Earlier in the day, Milk also had a streetcar used in the film dedicated to him as well. Watch a video of the premiere.
Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay leader who was slain 30 years ago, used to call himself "the Mayor of Castro Street," referring to the main drag through the neighborhood he represented on the Board of Supervisors and the center of the city's gay and lesbian community.
The world premiere of his biopic brought considerable star power to Milk's beloved Castro Theatre, including director Gus Van Sant and stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna. The film follows Milk's rise to office and his and Mayor George Moscone's assassination at City Hall by fellow Supervisor Dan White in 1978.
Van Sant said he had been talking about making this film for 18 years."He's an American hero," Van Sant said. "He's a great example of a man representing his community and his city."
Wake Up With These:
The New York Times:
The Front Page, 10/29
The Ethicist
NPR:
Tell Me More:
Stories: 1) Hudson Tragedy Deepens, Chicago Crime Under National Scrutiny 2) Georgia Inmate's Execution Postponed For Third Time 3) High School HIV Scare Alarms Community 4) Author Shares Tricks And Treats For All
Fresh Air:
Stories: 1) A Narrative Problem: The Many Faces Of McCain 2) Hotline To Help Secure Voters' Rights On Nov. 4
Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can browse while you listen. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.
San Diego is my hometown, and although it's in California, it's pretty conservative. Probably because of the large military presence there. But it looks like the San Diego City Council voted 6-2 to oppose Prop 8!
Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who married her longtime partner Jennifer LeSar Sept. 6, made the motion for the council to oppose the measure. She said getting married “was an incredible feeling for me” as it must have been for her colleagues, every one of whom is married.Maybe it's time to go back home for a visit . . . .
“I just want to thank you for making it possible for me to have that very same feeling,” she said.
Maddaffer, who seconded the motion, added, “At the end of the day, love cannot be legislated, but contracts can. Nobody should be forced to participate in a religious ceremony, and likewise nobody should be prevented from entering into a contractual relationship if they choose.”
Pork here with Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday for October 28, 2008.
P!nk’s Funhouse is open and I’ve spent much of the past week inside of it. The Cure is reawakened with 4:13 Dream and John Legend continues to Evolve. Lady Gaga is finally served up in the U.S. and Bloc Party get intimate.
I would’ve liked to have reviewed the new album by Bloc Party, Intimacy, but we’re just a new, little site and I don’t have labels throwing new releases at me to listen to. Maybe that will change someday, but for now settle for the cover art, which is ever so romantic.
Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday is going in deep this week. Track-by-track deep. P!nk is back! She’s still not dead, but man is she ever hurting! After repeated visits to the Funhouse, I’ve emerged with this report of sure grammatical malfunctions and even some f.t.w.s (first time words), but I’m a believer that you have to create at least one word a day or the English language is dead. Dead I tell you! That being said . . . here’s a bit of decoding from the top: Fun = Sad, House = Heart. You need look no further than the lyrics to the title track to see P!nk is getting a different kind of party started: “This used to be our funhouse, but now it’s full of evil clowns . . . I’d rather live out on the street than in this haunted memory.” Oooooooh. I LOVE heartbreak albums!
“So What” offers a wagon’s worth of bravado as P!nk struts through this defiant, fists-in-the-air anthem for everyone needing to claim their inner rock star. The lead single and album opener became the first No. 1 single of P!nk’s career and after repeated listens it heftily attaches itself to the brain thanks to its sing-alongability (f.t.w. #1) and top-notch production by Max Martin. This was a no-brainer, across the board smash . . . right down to the “na na na na na na na”s.
Read the track-by-track review of Funhouse and check out all the new music releases for today October 28th, 2008 after the jump.
In this Funhouse is a rollercoaster, and it takes you from one of the few highs of “So What” to the numerous lows heard early on in the “Why do I feel this party’s over?” of “Sober.” Bitterness has entered and makes its presence felt immediately. Truth be told, however, it’s not P!nk at her best. “Sober” also happened to be the name of the massively overlooked second single from Kelly Clarkson’s last album, My December, and although this is not a cover of that gripping tune, P!nk still seems to be pulling her best Kelly Clarkson impersonation on this mid-tempo chugger that easily would fit into the Clarkson Songbook. This is a surprisingly tame production from Danja, better known for his groundbreaking hits for Nelly Furtado (“Promiscuous” and “Say It Right”), Madonna (“4 Minutes”), Britney Spears (“Gimme More”), and Mariah Carey (“Migrate”). The thick layers of swirling hip-hop beats and string loops are replaced with slick, semi-rock production that seems not only anchored, but weighed down, by a chunky chorus that is catchy enough to remember, but perhaps not worthy.
A truer view of this Funhouse is visible in the next 4 song titles alone: “I Don’t Believe You” (a wilting and woozy, string-laden plea to not have to accept a heartbreak . . . quite pretty actually), “One Foot Wrong” (a bluesy and nervous track that opens with “Am I sweating? Or are these tears on my face? Should I be hungry? I can’t remember the last time I ate. Call someone. I need a friend to talk me down.” and ultimately finds her asking . . . okay yelling “Who’s gonna find me, who’s gonna find me? You’ll have to love me when I’m gone.” Gee, Pink. The party is over.), “Please Don’t Leave Me” (Surely this song has to be a single. It’s polished and lonely. Songs about longing rock hearts and the radio. Plus, the ‘da da da da da’s will circle in your head when you wake up in the middle of the night to pee…well that’s what’s happenin’ to me anyway. :] No song on Funhouse comes closer to recapturing the magic of I’m Not Dead . . . . think “Who Knew Pt. 2.”) and “Bad Influence” (one of those big euro-stompers with some swirly melodies and party-time lyrics we’ve come to love and expect from P!nk and one of the last highs this rollercoaster will show you).
“Funhouse,” the title track, is a bit too close to the Maroon 5/Ting Tings finish line for me to embrace it fully, but could it grow on me? Damn you, P!nk! I betchu it does! Those verses are downright throwbacks to Siouxsie & The Banshees “Peek-a-Boo” (“Burn this fucker down! doo doo doo doo doo doo doo”)
Things become crystal clear on the acoustic “Crystal Ball.” “Irony, irony is hating love, hating love for what it does to me . . . what it’s done to me . . . what it’s done . . . done.” Simple. Beautiful.
Oh, the Funhouse is not closed yet! Get ready for the drunken romper “Mean” where over some barsy (f.t.w. #8) Wallflowers-esque guitarwork P!nk wonders “How did we get so mean? How do we just move on?” P!nk would rather forever be and she doesn’t want to be free. So who were you calling a tool in “So What,” eh?
“It’s All Your Fault” brings P!nk back to Clarkson Land, but with a revved up chorus that will kick “Never Again "’s ass. This is the kind of song that could get you a speeding ticket . . . so beware if driving under the influence of P!nk. (Fans of P!nk’s “da da da da da da da”s rejoice! They return here for your pleasure.)
“Ave Mary A” demonstrates shades of Linkin P!nk…P!nkin Park? It explodes into a proper, all-out anthem for the desperate with the pleading refrain “Where did you go? Where did you go?” Fists in the air!
“Glitter In The Air” is by far the most mature song on Funhouse and amongst the best she’s ever written (or co-written as she has all 12 of Funhouse’s tracks). It is like coming out of a smoky haze and piecing together what just happened. Questions remain: “Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone? Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you’re not alone…Have you ever felt this way?” A great way to come down.
I must say that P!nk has never sounded better. Her vocal swagger continues to stand out in an ever-deepening pool of female artists flooding the airwaves. P!nk is also on my short-list of Must-See-Live Artists, so hopefully some live dates will start popping up. Ba ba da ba ba.
Funhouse is a whirlwind of questioning and longing . . . mostly to not be alone. It doesn’t pack quite the punch of most other P!nk albums, but maybe this is the album where she’s the one being punched. The reaction is a snapshot of the punching bag just as the glove is removed from the stricken surface. At least P!nk was smart enough to not release Her December at the beginning of the summer.
Well done, P!nk. I’m still holding you to your word that we can sing together someday. :]
The List:
All New Music Releases - October 28th, 2008
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology
. . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Festival Thyme (an EP on vinyl)
Sara Bareilles – Between the Lines: Sara Bareilles Live at the Fillmore (DVD)
David Benoit – Jazz for Peanuts: A Retrospective of the Charle Brown TV Themes
Bloc Party – Intimacy
Kurt Cobain – Cobain Unseen (Hardcover with spoken-word material by Kurt on CD)
Coolio – Steal Hear
Cynic – Traced in Air
Bob Dylan – Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years: Busy Being Born…Again (DVD)
Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
The 88 – Not Only…But Also
Forgive Durden – Razia’s Shadow (A Musical)
The Heligoats – The End of All-Purpose
Michael Jackson – Thriller 25th Anniversary – The Book Celebrating the Biggest Selling Album of All Time (Paperback)
Joey + Rory – The Life of a Song
Elton John – The Biography Presents Elton John (DVD)
Elton John – The Red Piano (Caesar’s Palace concert and documentary, CD and DVD)
Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy
The Knus – Remind Me in 3 Days
Yolanda Kondonassis – Air
Lady GaGa – The Fame
John Legend – Evolver
John Lennon – John Lennon: The Life (Hardcover, author: Philip Norman)
Lordi – Deadache
Marillion – Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 1: Essence, Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 2: The Hard Shoulder
Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center New York City (DVD)
Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream (DVD)
P!nk – Funhouse
Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks (enhanced and limited editions)
Boz Scaggs – Speak Low
Snow Patrol – One Hundred Million Suns
Talk Talk – Live at Montreux 1986 (DVD)
Susan Tedeschi – Back to the River
Various – Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
Various – OMFGG: Original Music Featured On Gossip Girl No. 1
Re-Issues, Greatest Hits and Box Sets from:Anastacia, Audio Adrenaline, Avalon, Blackfoot, Dave Brubeck, George Carlin (“FM & AM” - 1972 Grammy winner for Best Comedy Album and “Jammin’ in New York from 1992), Johnny Cash (they just keep ‘em coming, don’t they? This week it’s “Johnny Cash’s America on CD and DVD), Celtic Woman, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Chordettes, The Coasters, Ry Cooder, dcTalk, Bo Diddley, Celine Dion (“My Love: Essential Collection”), Dokken (For those of you at the record stores for the new Celine…get your Dokken while you’re there.), Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Judy Garland, Benny Goodman, The Isley Brothers, Jump5, Trini Lopez, Paul McCartney & Wings, Reba McEntire, Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville, The Partridge Family, P.M. Dawn, Queen (4 new remasters!), Rascal Flatts, Ratt, Roxy Music, Carly Simon, Skid Row, Ray Stevens, Stray Cats, Hunter S. Thompson, and a CD/DVD Bond Compilation called (you knew it) The Best of Bond . . . James Bond. And for all you fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, today’s your day to finally get an offical MP3 Download from Ode Records.