Last American Standing

The Robby Ginepri Comeback Express keeps moving through Paris, with his straight-set victory over Florent Serra of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. With both Williams sisters bounced yesterday, Ginepri -- whose right arm is so heavily bandaged in black and white tape that he looks like he shouldn't even be lifting a fork -- is now the last American in the French Open singles draw. He's also the first man from the United States to reach the round of 16 since Andre Agassi in 2003, which is even more remarkable when you consider that a week ago he owned an 0-5 record at Roland Garros and a 6-24 career mark on clay, and that he was ranked 171st in January after losing in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open. (Could sharing a coach with Roger Federer -- Jose Higueras -- really be making that much of a differnce?) (NYT)

Wear Your Heart Out

My NewFest schedule arrived in the mail yesterday (how retro!), and I'm excited to see two films I've written about -- "Ciao" and "The Sensei." But after flipping through it I now have a new entry on my must-see list: "Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon," No. 3 with a bullet ...

SYNOPSIS: Legendary porn superstar Jack Wrangler’s life has taken so many twists and turns, one would swear it was fictional. Jeffrey Schwarz’s expertly constructed documentary explores the life of the most celebrated and successful gay porn star of the 1970s, who carefully cultivated his image, turning himself into a brand name, and influenced a generation of gay men with his masculine and rugged good looks. Remarkably, he went on to successfully crossover and become one of the biggest straight porn stars in the 1980s. But the biggest twist came when he met singer Margaret Whiting, 22 years his senior, and inexplicably fell in love. "Wrangler" is a remarkable film aboutan extraordinary figure.

Watch and see what all the excitement is about ...

Attn: New York Readers

If you live in New York state, the governor is looking for your opinion on his recent directive for the state to recognize all legal same-sex marriages from other states and countries, even though New York does not allow gay marriage.

Please call (518) 474-8390 and say you support the governor's directive on marriage. You'll be asked to give your ZIP code (by an actual person!). It takes four seconds.

San Francisco Days, San Francisco Nights

 

Video: Rep. Graves (R-MO) TV Ad Attacks Opponent's San Fran Values

 Check out this new "attack" ad from Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who is facing a tough challenge from former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, a Democrat. The ad attaches Barnes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, zeroing in on her "San Francisco values," all of which I agree with (and I'm not even in San Francisco!).

Friday Photologue

Michael and I went to see the Mets pound the Dodgers last night, at what might be my last visit to Shea Stadium ...

Saw this hunky guy just outside my apartment. Not sure if you can tell, but he's holding a tennis racket (wanna play?) ...

Saw this cute old(er) gay couple on Fifth Avenue. The guy on the right even has highlights :-)

Here's my favorite: This chain called Le Pain Quotidien makes such a big stink about their "communal table" setup ...

Only everybody at the one on 7th Avenue pulls them apart so they can eat in peace! It's so New York, if not all of America ...

Separate but equal?

Look Who's Winning

Robby Ginepri is into the third round at the French Open, with an upset yesterday of 27th seed Igor Andreev of Russia, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Who knew the sexy American could win a match (period, let alone) on the dirt?

Page 1 Consider (05/30)

'Sex' Crime: The New York Times finally reviews the much-hyped "Sex and the City" movie and it ain't pretty: A little Botox goes a long way in "Sex and the City," but a little decent writing would have gone even further" and then calls it "a dumpy big-screen makeover of that much-adored small-screen delight" that is "vulgar, shrill, deeply shallow -- and, at 2 hours and 22 minutes, overlong." Ouch. And I thought Mario Cantone was a bitch. (NYT)

David's Got Two Uncles, or Something: Why is David Paterson, New York's accidental governor, so pro-gay? It may have something to do with Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald, a gay couple who were friends of the family with whom he spent a lot of time as a child. (How soon before Rush Limbaugh suggests that's why he went blind?) In an interview, Paterson said he believes that gay men and lesbians face the same kind of civil rights battle that black Americans faced. He acknowledged that this position put him at odds with some black leaders, who bristle at such comparisons. "In many respects, people in our society, we only recognize our own struggles," he said. "I've wanted to be someone in the African-American community who recognizes the new civil rights struggle that is being undertaken by gay and lesbian and transgendered people." In 2000 it was Paterson who wouldn't back down until sexual orientation was included in a hate crimes bill in New York. When it did, Paterson was quoted as saying: "Now I can die in peace," adding, "If nothing else ever happens here, I feel that I can point to a contribution that I made." (Finally a politician who gets it. God, I love this man!) (NYT)

From Hillary to the Holy Land: I have ambivalent feelings about Texas removing all of those children from that polygamist sect. But the fact that the courts don't think having young girls in the company of men who will force them into "marriages" and the rape that accompanies said "marriages" qualifies as "imminent danger" speaks volumes about the way our society values girls and women as a whole. Meanwhile, halfway 'round the world the Vatican issued its most explicit decree to date against the ordination of women priests on Thursday, punishing them and the bishops who try to ordain them with automatic excommunication. Such a lovely way to reward a woman who wants to give her life to the church she loves.
any woman who become priests. (NYT)

A Sign of the Apocalypse: I could see Clay Aiken having a relationship with a "daddy," but being one? (AH)

LGBT Content: Netflix is teaming up with Logo to make a number of the gay network's original series available for the first time on DVD, exclusively through mail-distribution DVD service. (Logo)

Life in the Deep End: Australian diver Matthew Mitcham has come out of the closet. But who has a "life partner" when they're 20? (PinkNews)

Jesus H. Christ: Oh no, not again! Barack Obama might want to consider atheism. (AP)

Freak That's On the Street: Want a behind-the-scenes look at the set of Marilyn Monroe's last fully produced feature? Two reels of silent, 8-millimeter color film titled "On Set With 'The Misfits'" is going on the auction block, with bids starting between $10,000 and $20,000. Julien's Auctions is listing the 47-minute film next month at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. "The Misfits" was a very interesting film, featuring one of Marilyn's most compelling performances. Having Montgomery Clift and Clark Gable on board certainly didn't hurt, either. Gable died shortly after filming wrapped and people close to him have often blamed the stress Monroe's unpredictably put on him as a contributing factor to his heart attack in November 1960. I wonder if any evidence of this will be seen on these lost reels. (AP)

Morning Wood: Matt Kennedy

I have no idea who this man is, but that's good enough for me.

Thanks for the Laughs, Harvey

I just read that Harvey Korman has died at the age of 81. Although my family used to dog him pretty badly for always cracking up during sketches on "The Carol Burnett Show" (I guess we figured we could just as easily laugh hysterically at Carol Burnett and Tim Conway's brilliant comedic gifts, so why not pay us), I still always smile when I think of him. And now after rewatching this classic dentist skit with him and Conway, I'm starting to realize I'm still smiling because he was always cracking up during sketches on "The Carol Burnett Show." A funny man who will not be forgotten. (AP)

Yep, I'm Gay

I told you Anderson Cooper has a thing for short men of color.

Inbox

Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 16:06:52 -0400
From: "Bill Walsh"
Subject: My whole life has been in preparation for this moment

Just corrected Pop Tart to Pop-Tart.

Thursday Ad Watch

This week's eye-catching advertisement.

Speaking of models, Michael and I just saw Casey Skinner of "Make Me a Supermodel" fame over at the Au Bon Pain on Fifth Avenue (the same place where I accosted Debbie Gibson). He got away before I could remember his name let alone ask for a photo, but I did find this video tribute to him for your viewing pleasure.

Towering Infernal

I don't know anything about this group Infernal, but the guy in the video sure is incredibly hot ...

Morning Wood: Michael B.

Mike B. very hot, don't you think? (Via OnDisplayMen)
(Kristopher Kelly Photography

Feel the Spin

The Post makes a nice try on the hed; too bad the expression is vicious circle

I got a lot of flak last year for siding with the "spin-class attacker" who couldn't tolerate a fellow classmate's overzealous "enthusiasm" during a class at Equinox on the Upper East Side. But now that I found out that one of the things the "victim," Stuart Sugarman, was yelling was "You go, girl!!!" I'm beginning to think justifiable homicide wound've been OK, too. I think I've made it abundantly clear how I feel about people who make a nuisance of themselves at the gym, so now that the trial is under way I just wanted to send my best to the real victim here, defendant Christopher Carter. For those who think Carter overreacted I present an interesting bit of exculpatory evidence. It seems that prior to the attack Carter asked the instructor to please ask Sugarman to keep it down (the instructor just shrugged), then he asked Sugarman directly. According to a witness testimony Sugarman's exact response was, "Make me." No further questions, Your Honor.

Related: Grunting in Gym Class Leads to the Hospital and to Court (NYT)

Page 1 Consider (05/29)

Color Me Intrigued: Anyone hear about this indie movie called "Kabluey"? It stars Lisa Kudrow, Scott Prendergast, Teri Garr, Christine Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Chris Parnell, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and is described as "a hilarious, unique, and heartfelt film that focuses on Salman (Prendergast) who comes to help his sister-in-law (Kudrow) tend to her homicidal toddlers while Salman's brother is off fighting in Iraq. Salman must take a humiliating job as a giant blue corporate mascot to help make ends meet and hold the family together." I'm soooooo there! (OfficialSite)

The Forgotten Arm: Aimee Mann has a new album coming out and she's named it for all those guys in gay bars who like to come up to you and say, "Smile." (Billboard)

The Kite Runner: Former Wimbledon finalist and '70s heartthrob Roscoe Tanner is hot water for writing bad checks again. It's a shame that I never feel sorry for people who live off their serves. (AP)

The Devil Has Good Taste: Sean Avery, hottest Vogue intern ever? (People)

Mark Your Gay Calendars: California officials are telling county clerks that they can start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 17. The state Office of Vital Records says it chose June 17 because the state Supreme Court has until the end of business on June 16 to decide whether to grant a stay of its ruling legalizing gay marriage. New marriage license forms also will include lines for "Party A" and "Party B" instead of bridge and groom. (AP)

Tattooed Love Boy Man: You may recall that I was sniffing around him when he was just 17, but up-and-coming French tennis player Jonathan Eysseric's He's finally legal, so feel free to check out sexy his sexy inked backside. (TSF)

Look Who's Hawking: Are you excited to read former White House press flack Scott McClellan's new memoir, "I Knew It Was a Mistake but Didn't Say Anything Until I Got a Book Deal"? (NYT)

Pink Triangles: Germany unveiled a memorial Tuesday to the Nazis' long-ignored gay victims, a monument that also aims to address ongoing discrimination by confronting visitors with an image of a same-sex couple kissing. The memorial -- a sloping gray concrete slab on the edge of Berlin's Tiergarten park -- echoes the vast field of smaller slabs that make up Germany's memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust, opened three years ago just across the road. (AP)

Coitus Interruptus: Didn't make it to the big "Sex and the City" movie premiere? Neither did I. But you can read all about the after-party here.

24-Karat Burger: And I thought Better Burger in Chelsea was overpriced. (AP)

Working Girl: She's awfully cute, but would you trust this nine-year-old tortoiseshell cat named "Tama" as the conductor of your train? (Yahoo).

BREAKING: N.Y. to Recognize Gay Marriages From Elsewhere

The NYT is reporting that New York Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, like California and Canada. (NYT)

Blonde on Blondie

In this awkwardly adorable clip (or is it adorably awkward?), Scarlett Johansson reveals her Peter Falk fetish to the timeless Debbie Harry. Watch HERE.

'Paper' Route

From the second I read Ginia Bellafante's review in The Times of "The Paper" last month I had a pit in my stomach. Although I was completely intrigued by the idea of a reality show set in the newsroom of a high school paper (newspapers are embedded in my family's DNA, after all), I was afraid it would stir up too many painful adolescent memories, something I've done my best to convince myself I've gotten past. Still, the lure of the newspaper was overwhelming. As far back as I can remember I've been working for one in some fashion or another. When I was 9 my brothers and I set up shop in the basement of our house in Madison Heights, Mich., and self-published the Hiller News. (We weren't going to let the fact that our crack elementary school didn't even have a newspaper class stop us, and Scrabble tiles made for nifty name plaques anyway.)

(click to enlarge)

The spirit duplicator -- aka "ditto" machine -- was my first introduction to the joy of poppers

While it didn't last long -- Woodward and Bernstein had just brought down a president and Principal Kwapisz wasn't about to let us do the same thing to him after Billy wrote that scathing op-ed blowing the lid off the lunch ladies not doing their job and he shut us down after just a few issues -- the seed had been planted and none of us ever looked back. (But seriously, were the lunch ladies afraid of the students, and was the "snowball area" only created to save the supervisors the extra work needed to keep kids out of other trouble, so they would at least kill each other with snowballs "peacefully"? To this day, no one has ever satisfactorily answered any of these questions.)

So despite my ambivalent feelings, I tuned in to see the kids who produce The Circuit at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla., hoping it would at least function as a serviceable madeleine. Instead, all of my most dreaded memories came rushing back -- the cliques, the backstabbing, the bickering, the insecurities, the ganging up on one another. While I'm sure the staff had its reasons for not wanting Amanda to be editor in chief (her Type A personality is hardly my cup of tea), at least she's tries. (Maybe I'm defending her because she's a former copy editor and I have career-trajectory-envy.) And the truth of the matter is she's far more Valerie Cherish than she is Bonnie Fuller. Once she was selected for the job, though, one would have hoped the other students would at least try to act like human beings. Instead, Amanda's former best friend turned deputy, Alex, spent the entire semester pouting like a 2-year-old (and I'm being kind) and undermining her every move. Meanwhile, news editor Giana might be the most hateful person on reality TV since Omarosa. She sweated venom through every episode and had nothing nice to say about anyone or anything. Her boyfriend wasn't much nicer either. (They truly deserve each other, assuming she doesn't run off with that Asian Superstudent.) The rest of the "back row" are no better, and while they seem to think their mutual refusal to try to work with Amanda is "cool," it comes off as pathetic more than anything. (One bright spot: advertising manager Adam managed to be so lovably gay flamboyant that he was elected homecoming king and seems to be the most popular guy in school!)

I've now seen all eight episodes (I watched the finale last night) and while the series didn't manage to help me refurbish any childhood memories, it did succeed in reminding me why I either participated from a distance or quit every school club, team or organization I ever joined, including my three school newspapers: Kids are cruel. It also succeeded at something far more important. As much as I like to joke that all of life is a form of high school -- the cool people, the smart people, the popular people, and the politics of it all -- the truth of the matter is my entire professional career has been filled with smart, generous and supportive people. Who've thunk it would take a teenybopper show on MTV to make me realize just how fortunate I've been.

UPDATE: FourFour has a brilliant play-by-play analysis of "The Paper" here.

Related: The Making of a Teenage Editorzilla (NYT)
Teenage Newshounds, It’s a Dog-Eat-Dog World (NYT)

A Family Affair

My grandfather Mickey Walsh, far left, cranks out his sports column at The Pottsville Republican circa February 1938; I return to the scene of the crime circa May 2005

Naked and Sacred

Readers in the (213) -- and the (310), (323), (818) and (714) -- won't want to miss L.A. Nude 10, on display June 7 through July 25 at A&I Photographic, 933 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. The show -- which promises to once again redefine the words exhibition and exposure -- features the work of some 40 photographers, including Leonard Nimoy, Dennis Hopper and my pal Scott Ashton, whose photo of the late fitness model Rob Sager is seen above.

Music Box: The Motels

In the band's early '80s heyday, I thought the Motels were nothing more than a poor man's Pretenders, and didn't pay them much attention. Years later, I came to realize that Martha Davis was one of the New Wave's most evocative presences, with her smoky vocals, her crazy eyes and her dark and moody lyrics that frequently examined the dark side of Los Angeles. Although the band's MTV hits -- "Only the Lonely," "Suddenly Last Summer" and, especially, "Shame" -- were certainly enjoyable, I think the real turning point came in 1986 when I saw Jonathan Demme's underrated "Something Wild." There's the robbery scene in the grocery with Ray Liotta and Jeff Daniels -- every second more tense than the next -- and the Motels' "Total Control" plays robotically in the background. It's such a brilliant film moment made even more perfect by that song. It was then that I had to race out and get every song they ever recorded and what a joy it was to discover the band's first five studio albums (1979's "Motels," 1980's "Careful," 1982's "All Four One," 1985's "Shock") and Martha's 1987 solo debut, "Policy."

All these years later, Martha Davis and her Motels are still making interesting music. (Check out their latest releases here.) And I'm still discovering some of the old stuff. It seems their most successful album -- 1982's "All Four One" -- was reissued years ago with many of the original takes from when it was first submitted to the label -- and rejected -- in 1981 as "Apocalypso." I only found out about the reissue with these bonus tracks last night and have been searching the Web looking for a copy. (I think I've succeeded!) Now if we could just get Martha to play live in the Big Apple someday soon ...

I would sell my soul ...

"Shame" on every little thing that we do ... 

ESL

If I were this chick's instructor the first thing I'd teach her in English is "don't trim your own bangs."

Sporting Goods: Blaine Wilson

Three-time Olympian Blaine Wilson's comeback ended after two events Thursday when he withdrew from the nationals and announced his retirement. "I got through floor exercise and I said, 'I’m just tired,'" Wilson, 33, said he told coach Miles Avery. (Tired of what -- being so damn hot?) He added, "It's been a good run ... It was a good idea for me to walk away." Between Blaine and Alexei Nemov, there was actually a time when watching the Olympics was fun. I hope his retirement is everything he hopes it will be. Last time he tried things didn't go so well.