OK, so this is one story that you really can't blame the media for going gaga over -- who doesn't like to think of Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf fucking on the set of those god-awful movies they made together? -- but I do take exception with The New York Post's characterization of Fox's cheated-on partner, Brian Austin Green.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
What Becomes an Icon Most?
Under the Moon (and the Spoon)
Howard the ... What the F**K?
I don't have a problem with "Howard" wearing lingerie. I do have a problem with him wearing it on airplanes when he flies -- especially now that I know he's from Phoenix! (I'd have a problem with a woman dressed like this too.) Is is possibly true, as a spokesman for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport said, that there is "no dress code that would prevent Howard or anyone else" from flying in lingerie, "as long as it does not compromise the safety of the flight or fellow passengers"? Aren't there law laws? Decency laws? I guess the (not) Naked Cowboy stands in the middle of Times Square in nothing but briefs with cops all around, so maybe I'm wrong. If it makes you feel any better, though, apparently Howard will cover up if the crew asks him to. (Where's that flight attendant bell?) Good to see that he's more eager to please than he is pleasing to the eye. Full story HERE.
No Friends Attached
Life's a 'Pitch,' Then You Die
A Year in the What?
My post about favorite short-lived television series has garnered a bunch of great feedback -- I love it when my endless nostalgia pays dividends. Several people suggested "Jennifer Slept Here" (yay!), "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (my brother Bill's fave), later to lose its "Can't Lose" and "Better Off Ted" got A LOT of votes -- all of which I'm very familiar with -- but the show that completely threw me off was "A Year in the Life," something I've never even heard of in passing. Reader Shae tells me it was like "Thirtysomething" with a "great cast" including Sarah Jessica Parker. (Huh?) Wikipedia says it was a 1986 Emmy Award–winning miniseries and (later) a one-hour dramatic series that ran on NBC during the 1987–88 TV season, created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey (whose partnership also produced the television shows "St. Elsewhere," "Northern Exposure" and "I'll Fly Away").
Having never heard of a show probably isn't that unusual, but that Sarah Jessica Parker was on it -- post-"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" -- is what shocked me as I thought I'd followed her career pretty closely since "Square Pegs." (Did I mention that I saw "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in the theater and had the poster?)
Equally surprising is that at a cursory glance, SJP is the only actor (in a rather large cast) that I've even heard of, although David Oliver (hubba hubba) -- who played the conservative youngest son Sam, who was married to SJP's "free-spirited Kay" -- definitely seems like someone I'd have stalked loved. (I'd fly off the handle that someone as hot as him would NEVER date, let alone marry, someone like Sarah Jessica Parker -- Maxim's Unsexiest Woman Alive for 2007 -- but then I remind myself that she dated John F. Kennedy Jr., and I file it away with other great unsolved mysteries.) Sad to read that Oliver died of AIDS complications on Nov. 12, 1992. (Did I mention this is the first time I'm hearing about any of this?!) I don't see "A Year in the Life" on Netflix, but I'm guessing it's out there on ioffer.com just waiting for my bid!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
To Catch a Predator Catcher
Although I watched "To Catch a Predator" on "Dateline NBC" with the same fascination that most people did -- "I'll be right out, I spilled some milk on my sweater; have a cookie while I change!" -- I've long had a fundamental problem with the show, which I always felt lured (often weak) people into doing something they likely would not have otherwise, but then didn't even lure them into committing an actual crime -- which is what entrapment really means. There is NO VICTIM when a so-called pervert chats about sex with a 51-year-old undercover cop. There isn't even a victim when a so-called pervert drives to the (fake) house of a 51-year-old undercover cop. The truth is, at this point, who hasn't said or done things online that took on an element of fantasy? Do we even REALLY think the hot OF-AGE guy we're chatting with online -- who always happens to be a closeted fireman -- is real much less the hot-to-trot high school sophomore who is dying to have sex with an older guy who says he's got wine coolers? EVERYTHING online is fake until proven otherwise. I understand that legislators thought they were doing something good by passing tough laws against online predators -- parents understandably freaked out when they realized the scary Internet allowed strangers, including sickos who look at child pornography, to "come into" their homes and mess with their children -- but did you know that these reactionary laws create penalties for crimes like this that are often, pardon the pun, far stiffer than those for people who ACTUALLY MOLEST CHILDREN? (It's really messed up.) I'd suggest we spend more time prosecuting people who are actually harming people -- and keeping tabs on high-risk offenders once they're out of jail -- instead of engaging in questionably legal stunts like this.
So it gives me a schadenfreude stiffy to see that smug host Chris Hansen -- you know, the married one with two sons -- was caught in a hidden-camera sting by the National Enquirer doing something (probably) illegal -- having an adulterous affair with a woman 20 years his junior! (I hope someone walked up to him with a piece of paper folded in their hand as the cameras rolled and said, "Sit down. So what did you think was going to happen here today?")
The Gay Times (06/29)
All the LGBT New York Times news that's fit to aggregate:
Beyond 'Powertool'
Federer's Ass Is Grass
Anatomically Incorrect
Cabaret Heaven (Is a Place on Earth)
White Christmas
Sip & Twirl
'Pitch' In! (TONIGHT)
Don't miss Pitch! - Michael Musto ("La Dolce Musto," The Village Voice) tonight at 9;30 p.m. in The Lounge at Dixon Place, 161 Chrystie St. Featuring Billy Eichner, Michael Lawrence, Mother Flawless Sabrina, Glenn Marla, and, of course, Michael Musto!
What is "Pitch!"?
"Pitch!" is a live storytelling event with a twist. Four storytellers or performers do their thing for the audience, while simultaneously pitching their ideas to editors from the world of publishing (who change month-by-month). The editors will give their input, and a possible yes or no... live, on stage! The audience will be encouraged to voice opinions! Will the performers have what it takes? Will you have what it takes? Between storytellers, willing audience members will be invited to give pitches to the editor, who'll give a thumbs-up or down on the spot, and comments! Hosts Greg Walloch and Mark Allen will MC, keeping things moving at an irreverent, funny pace. Come witness some great stories, some great editorial feedback... and the intense process of being a writer more closely than you could have ever imagined. Don't just sit there waiting for your first big break ... come witness "Pitch!"
More info HERE.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Gay Times (06/28)
All the LGBT New York Times news that's fit to aggregate:
Quote of the Day: NY Senator James Alesi
"I understand that constitutionally the president is right, because it's a states' rights issue, otherwise New York wouldn't have been able to pass this. But there's nothing wrong with the most powerful person in the world espousing a viewpoint." -- New York State Senator James Alesi, the first Republican to announce his support of New York's same-sex bill, talking to Chris Matthews about President Obama's lack of conviction on the issue.
Every Day Is Hump Day
Here's Brooke Shields as Morticia Addams
30 Forgotten Boob-Tube Favorites
Shortly after my pal Matt at BoyCulture had a fun post about favorite short-lived television series -- a subject I can talk about forever -- I came across a couple photos I had gotten in a press kit for "Everything's Relative," a doomed 1987 sitcom I was highly attached to because of one of its leading men. (And no, I'm not talking about Jason Alexander, who would strike sitcom gold a couple years later.)
I was over the moon that John Bolger -- who played hunky Michael in the seminal gay film "Parting Glances" -- was now going to be part of my weekly TV regimen, but alas it was not meant to be. As I recall, Bolger and Alexander played brothers who were -- surprise! -- opposite in every way. Julian was booksmart, nebbish and not exactly a hit with the ladies, while brother Scott (even his name is hotter!) was a sexy construction-worker type, whose dashing good looks no woman could resist. (Or no gay college guy, as the case may be.) Anne Jackson (Mrs. Eli Wallach in real life) played their mom. Besides Peggy Cass making a guest appearance on one episode, the main thing I remember most about "Everything's Relative" is the way John Bolger looked in a tight T-shirt and jeans. (You're welcome.)
Here are some of my other "forgotten" favorites -- please tell me about yours!
UPDATE: I realize I did one of these lists a couple years ago -- after 10,000 posts, who can keep track? -- and I forgot to mention a few from then, including "Dog Bites Man" and "Central Park West."