Ya Gotta Believe (That It's Just a Bad Dream)

David Wright and the Mets' anemic 8-1 loss to the Florida Marlins caps a stunning collapse for the team that once looked look a sure thing to win the league pennant. (NYT)

Song of the Day: 'What's a Girl to Do' by Bat for Lashes

My latest "discovery" ... the brainchild of Natasha Khan.

Circle in the Sand Trap

The Go-Go's are kicking off their latest tour of the West Coast, but when she's not belting out classic pop songs Belinda Carlisle is busy perfecting her putting skills on the golf courses near her homes in Provence and Austria. "I like the Zen aspect of the game and hanging out in the sunshine. And the smells. No matter how I play, I have a good time," the heavenly beauty says. But don't think she's become a complete Euro-Stepford Wife just yet: "I'm still a punk rocker at heart. Anything conservative is so not me. When I play, it's 'I Love Lucy' with an edge." (Source)

Afternoon Delight

The Heartbreak Kid (Source - adult link)

'Parting Glances' Comes Home

Well, it's official. The New York screening of Outfest Project Legacy's restored print of my favorite gay film of all time -- and one of my favorite films of all time -- "Parting Glances" has been confirmed. (Complete details below.) If you've been on this blog before then you've undoubtedly heard me yammer on and on about this landmark film. Its impact on me and, as I've come to learn, so many other people of my generation is enormous. Although it deals with the AIDS crisis, which was certainly at the forefront of my mind at the time in 1986, for me "Parting Glances" was really about every other part of being a gay man. It showed this teenage boy in Mesa, Arizona, that I wasn't the only gay person in the world. That I wasn't a complete freak. That the only option for me wasn't being drag queen.* (How much we owe to independent film.) The character of Michael taught me that I could still be a smart, witty, upstanding member of society -- an editor, a lover, a friend -- in spite of everything I'd seen or heard about being one of those "homosexuals." His boyfriend, Robert, gave me hope for meeting the hunky man of my dreams. His friend Joan helped me understand why so many of my closest friends had always been girls. And Douglas helped me understand who Doug Semig was. Watching Bill Sherwood's 48-hour slice of Manhattan gay life was the first time in my life that I believed that I was going be OK.

The Walter Reade Theater

The Film Society of Lincoln Center

165 W. 65th St., upper level (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Monday, October 29

6:30 p.m.: Pre-Reception (VIP ticket holders)

7:30 p.m.: Screening and Q&A (all ticket holders)

9:30-11 p.m.: Post-Reception (all ticket holders)

For more information click here. For tickets, click here
Scheduled to appear: Kathy Kinney, Richard Ganoung and John Bolger

*Not that there's anything wrong with that.

As a bonus, here is a four-minute clip of from Robert's surprise going-away party. These were people I wanted to be friends with, and in a sense feel I am now.

Previously:

Cathing Up With Richard Wall

'Parting Glances Reunion'

Revisiting an Old Friend

None of That

Morning Stiffy

Beefcake calendars that benefit charities aren't exactly something novel, but one that features a hearse-full of hunky morticians is a new one for me. The "drop dead gorgeous" jokes have all been used, so I will let you decide if you'd like to be embalmed by one of these fellas for yourself. For more information on the calendar and the charity it benefits, go here.

P.S. If they're looking for fresh meat for next year might I suggest my college sweetheart, Derek, who is a funeral director out West who I think gives these guys some pretty stiff competition ...

Whale of a Tale

I can't decide if this story about the woman who pretended to have escaped from the upper floors of the WTC south tower on Sept. 11 -- and to have lost her "fiance" in the north tower -- is more disgusting or more sad. What kind of person would do something so twisted? (The details will shock you.) I wonder if she suffers from a form of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome or if she's just a garden variety nutjob.

The Men of 'Grey's Anatomy'

Justin Chambers, Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight and Eric Dane (clockwise from top left)
OK. So maybe all those girls at the gay bars were wrong. The gay one isn't always the cutest guy in the room ... (WireImage)

Little Drummer Girl

Is Meg White's sex tape the real reason the White Strips have canceled their tour? (Click the photo above for proof that it's real. I'm starting feel some anxiety now too, Meg). Talk about something this world doesn't need.

Size Queens

The New York Times Style section attempts to answer the age-old question: Is bigger always better? (NYT)

Daddy, Complex

So here's the first look at Bridget Moynahan and Tom Brady's love child, John Edward Thomas Moynahan. (He's not a Brady? Ouch.) Mom posed with her 5-week old son for a spread in OK! Magazine although she refused an interview. How she is working out the long-distance daddy routine with the Patriots superstar remains to be seen. (Source)

Page 1 Consider (09/27)

Thanks for the Mezzanines: Dennis Hensley, of "Misadventures in the (213)" fame, reflects on his first concert: Pat Benatar on the "Crimes of Passion" tour in 1982. Do you remember your first concert? (The Go-Go's with the Blasters in 1982 with my friend Greg was mine.) (MSNBC)

A Farewell to Glamour: The Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. entertained starlets, world leaders and Hollywood producers, will be razed in November to make way for a school auditorium. The nightclub is the last remaining piece of the fabled Ambassador Hotel complex, where every American president from Hoover to Nixon stayed and where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan. (NYT)

It's a Blog! Congrats to my friend Greg on the birth of his latest blog, Hollywood Joe.

Wall of Money: That there are even two people in this world who would believe for one second that Lana Clarkson went over to Phil Spector's house and blew her own brains out is enough to make me lose all faith in our judicial system. (LAT)

The Rebirth of America: A federal judge has struck down two provisions of the Patriot Act, dealing another blow to the government in its (il)legal war on terror. (ABC)

Persian Pansies: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's official Web site and Iran's state news agency have cut out any reference to gays -- including his comment that there are none in Iran -- in their Farsi-language transcripts of his controversial appearance this week at Columbia University. (Wouldn't want to give 'em any ideas.) (AP)

Hate Crime Bill: The Senate is expected to vote today on legislation that would add sexuality to list of categories included under federal hate crime law. The House passed a similar bill in May, despite a dickhead threat from the White House to veto it if the measure passed both houses. (365Gay)

No Child Left Behind (Within Reason): A teenage girl in Spencer, N.Y., was sent home from school last week for wearing a T-shirt that read, "Gay? Fine by Me." After the girl wore the shirt, several other students took up the message, writing the words on their skin. School administrators immediately patrolled the cafeteria, ordering students to wash the ink off their arms and hands. (Advocate)

I Feel for Her: Music legend Chaka Khan will join the cast of Broadway's "Color People Purple." Let's hope her son doesn't murder anyone in the audience. (AP)

Separate and Not Equal: A commission created by lawmakers to examine the effectiveness of New Jersey's civil union law has been told that it is a sham leaving same-sex couples and their children with virtually no protections. The state Supreme Court ruled last year that same-sex couples must have the rights as opposite-sex married couples but left it to the legislature to decide whether that should be done through marriage or civil unions. This is why we need to call it something that everyone understands: marriage. (365Gay)

Thursday Ad Watch

Seven the Hard Way: 7 Jeans
Guess returns to form, below ...
French Toast: Moet & Chandon, below left, and Vegas-style French kissin'
AussieBum may have ditched Janice Dickinson, but they sure found some hot models of their own, below

This week's eye-catching advertisements

Blond Ambition

What a huge step forward for the LGBT population that New York's own Candis Cayne has landed the role of Billy Baldwin's transgender mistress, Carmelita, on ABC's new drama "Dirty Sexy Money." What's obvious to many of us in the queer world has been slow to make its way into the gay-filled-yet-self-loathingly-homophobic world of Hollywood -- that gays can play gays, and trannies can play trannies. As a result we've had to sit back and watch two plum transroles in the past two years have gone to XX women, with Rebecca Romjin playing Alexis on "Ugly Betty" and Felicity Huffman getting the lead in "TransAmerica." (Oh, wait. Maybe that wasn't such a good example. She is a transsexual, right?)

I didn't catch the "Dirty Sexy Money" premiere last night (I loved "Melrose Place" in the '90s, but never saw a episode of "Dallas," "Knots Landing" or "Dynasty" in my life, which I think "Dirty" takes its cues from, so ...) and based on the reviews I've read something tells me it's not going to be around much longer. But this doesn't diminish my excitement for Candis and the transgender community. Candis told Access Hollywood that when she began transitioning 10 years ago she realized she'd probably never work again. And while she's thrilled to hit prime time in this new role, her hope is to one day play a natural-born woman. "We’re all actors and actresses," she explained, "so I’d like to get to the point where I could play just female roles you know and not always be categorized." To which I say: You go, girl ...
Related:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Curb Your Transsexualism?

Candis Cayne Stops Traffic

Who's That Guy?

Photo Flashback: 1996

In case you couldn't tell, I really was surprised on this birthday. Rafael and Kandy sure enjoyed watching me blush. The funniest part of the night was that the party was held at our friend Fabian's apartment, in the Lansburgh in downtown Washington. Fabian was (is?) an illegal alien but his down-the-hall neighbor just happened to be the attorney general at the time, Janet Reno. He's greet her in the hallway just like you would any neighbor, yet to me the whole thing had wacky sitcom written all over it ...

Kristen smiles now, but would be hugging the toilet before long ...

Crack Addict: David Beckham

I just woke up and found this in my Inbox, so forgive me if this has already been proven to be a fake. But sources are saying this is a leaked photo of Becks from an upcoming issue of Attitude magazine. You be the judge. As to not offend anyone, the uncensored version is after the jump. ----->

Morning Wood: Brad Womack

The new "Bachelor" sure looks better with his clothes off ... (ABC) (Source)

Page 1 Consider (09/26)

Dum-Fuk: When our illustrious and verbally gaffe-prone president addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, the White House inadvertently showed us exactly how they try to get George Bush to be able to pronounce the "hard words" -- with a phonetic pronunciation guide on the teleprompter to get him past troublesome names of countries and world leaders. The White House was left scrambling to explain after a marked-up draft of Bush's speech popped up briefly on the U.N. Web site as he delivered his remarks, giving a rare glimpse of the special guidance he gets for major addresses. It included phonetic spellings for French President Nicolas Sarkozy (sar-KO-zee), a friend, and Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe (moo-GAH-bee), a target of U.S. human rights criticism. Pronunciations were also provided for Kyrgyzstan (KEYR-geez-stan), Mauritania (moor-EH-tain-ee-a) and the Zimbabwe capital Harare (hah-RAR-ray). (Reuters)

Feeling Goofy: Holding hands with your gay lover, threatening someone with a gun? Is there a difference? And they call this the Happiest Place on Earth ...(Advocate)

Nothing Friendly About This Fire: That whole covering up the murder of at least 11 of Iraqi civilians by American mercenaries, Blackwater USA? The State Department says it's just a big "misunderstanding. (NYT)

Did He Order a Loofah? After eating dinner at a famed Harlem restaurant recently, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly told a radio audience he "couldn't get over the fact" that there was no difference between the black-run Sylvia's and other restaurants. "It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun," he said. "And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all." Bill O'Reilly is the No. 1 cable television personality in America. Put 2 and 2 together. It's really sad, and scary. (AP)

The Withdrawal Method: Larry Craig's lawyers are going to have their hands full today in court trying to withdraw the frisky senator's guilty plea. (AP)

Mary Richards Thanks You: A bill that for the first time would give journalists limited protection from efforts to force them to reveal their sources in the federal courts will be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, and its sponsors said its prospects are good. (NYT)

Hill Billies: So you send a former Tennessee football player to Congress and this is the best he can come up with -- legislation to censor what films are shown on airplanes. (NYT)

Latter-day Creep: Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group, was convicted Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin -- whom she "didn't even like." (Time)

If He Could Turn Back Time

Brad Pitt, seen here filming "Burn After Reading" this week in New York City, almost looks like his old "Growing Pains" self -- a far cry from this scene earlier this summer.

Ziegfeld's Follies

George Clooney and Sarah Larson arrive at the "Michael Clayton" premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. (We all should look this good -- even without a near-fatal motor cycle accident in our recent past.) Everyone always says being on "Fear Factor" is a pointless waste of time -- and eating worms for a little cash is hardly worth the trouble. But this Sarah chick seems to have come out all right from her stint on the gross-out reality show, wouldn't you say?

Apt. Pupil

The new site IntoTheBox.TV is taking a look at the psychology, sociology and economics behind the New York City housing market. They sent me this clip called "Renovation Pitfalls," but like Carrie Bradshaw I'm a renter so it wasn't of much use to me. But if you wanna see a construction worker's nice biceps or hear a straight man utter the following -- "Doing a home improvement project is a real Broadway play. There are a lot of things happening on stage and behind the scenes that makes it all come together" -- then please click on the image above.

Isn't It Romantic?

A Beautiful Bride

As I've mentioned, Michael and I drove down to Chestertown, Maryland, two weekends ago for my good friend Kandy's wedding to her Aussie beau, Ben. To say we had a wonderful time doesn't really begin to capture the overwhelming sense of emotion experienced during those three days on the Eastern Shore. First and foremost was the joy of seeing someone you love make such a profound commitment to someone she loves. I don't know Ben very well, but everything I've seen and heard about him tells me he is great guy and terrific choice for Kandy. When he and his former band, French Toast (and friends), serenaded her with a cover of Iggy Pop's song of the same name (if slightly different spelling) the whole room swooned. When Kandy and her dad danced I teared up (Kandy and her parents have been through so much together). I recall Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door" and the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" as special songs during the early dances. The whole experience reminded me why the fight for equality is so important. You don't have to want to get married to understand what a beautiful day it is. There was something about seeing the two of them declare their love for one another in front of their friends and family that really touched me deeply. I can't help but wonder, will we be alive to see all people who want to experience this beautiful institution?
See the rest of the photos here.

Pre-wedding fun with Jenny, Jean and Jessica / Get happy: Michael and me

Flesh for Fantasy

You may recall the post I did about Shayne Ward last month. He's the gorgeous kid who won an "American Idol"-style show over in the U.K., but is probably better-suited for modeling than rapping singing. Well, further bolstering my theory the boys at Chart Rigger have found sexy young Shayne's newest "musical" effort -- "No U Hang Up" -- and let's just say the softcore porn video for the song is by far the most interesting thing about his latest endeavor.

Find Me a Find

Does anyone know who this adorable gum-chewing, boot-wearing paid spokesmodel guy looking for love in the Match.com ads on MySpace is? I'm not even single and I'm ready to sign up for whatever he's selling ... what a smile!

But is it OK to gawk?

UPDATE: I've been informed by a trusty reader that our love-seeking Romeo is one Sam Whitten, a New York-based actor. Sadly, I'm also told Sam has a penchant for the ladies ...