All That Jaziri

This photo spread celebrated Malek Jaziri's first appearance in the Top 100 on the ATP tour rankings. The hunky Tunisian has since fallen to 130, but suffice to say he'll soon be ranked much higher than that on my list of the 100 Hottest Tennis Players of the Open Era the next time it's updated. 

More photos HERE.

Op-ed: Seth MacFarlane Isn't the Problem

Finally, someone smart enough to get it. (YES, I said smart enough.) Victoria Brownwoth writes that the host wasn't being a chauvinist on Oscar night. He was calling out Hollywood's long-ingrained chauvinism. Bravo, Victoria. Read HERE.

Irish Spring

   I feel a Shamrock Shake coming upon me ...

No Victims, Only Volunteers

I can't help but pitch a reality show in my mind where I am working at one of these organizations.

White House to Urge SCOTUS to End California Gay Marriage Ban

I love my president:

The New York Times reports:

The Obama administration will throw its support behind a broad claim for marriage equality, urging the Supreme Court to rule that voters in California were not entitled to ban same-sex marriage there, according to an administration official.The federal government is not a party to the case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, No. 12-144, and was not required to take a position in it. But the lawyers who filed the challenge, Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, along with gay rights groups, lobbied hard for the brief, saying the administration could not stay silent on the issue.The administration is expected to file the brief Thursday.

Read HERE.

Mug Shot Thursday

From HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Constancia' by the Arctic Wife

Read about this Danish pop duo over on Arjan Writes.

Lena Dunham Auditions for 'Zero Dark Thirty'

This is borderline amazing.

Morning Wood

Seen HERE.

Page 1 Consider (02/28)

Not Playing Coy

 I guarantee you THIS is the best story about a transgender 6-year-old who isn't being allowed to use the girls' bathroom that you'll read all day.

Wednesday Ad Watch

   C-IN2's home page looks good in blue.

Who Shot JR's Wad?

 OK, this might end up being like that moment when I first realized my brother Bill was kind of a "Junior" -- my dad is named Bill, too, but I only made the connection a couple years ago(!). (In my defense, we didn't grow up with Dad, and he technically didn't have a middle name, whereas my brother did.) But I heard Jordana Brewster on "Chelsea Lately" last night promoting the "Dallas" reboot, and in the course of the interview they discussed how the LGBT scene in Dallas is huge -- and that they even have gay bars named after J.R. and Sue Ellen. Really???????

I've been going to the JR's in Washington since 1989 and this is the first time I've heard someone mention it was named after JR Ewing. (I was aware of the Texas locations, and even went to the one in Houston once when my connecting flight to L.A. got canceled!) Did I somehow miss the boat completely on this? It certainly wouldn't be the first time ...

Deen's List

Porn stud James Deen's lecture at Pasadena City College this afternoon has suddenly been deemed a "public safety concern" by administrators, but it seems to me that handing out free condoms would have done the trick. Read HERE.

NYT Obit Notes Pianist Van Cliburn's 'Live-In Friend' (UPDATED)

Noted pianist Van Cliburn died this morning in Fort Worth, Texas, and my friend Jim has already performed an autopsy on his NYT obit:

The New York Times doesn't seem to know what to do with pianist Van Cliburn's live-in friend, Thomas Smith. Van Cliburn died today at 78, and the NYT's obituary says in the second paragraph: "His publicist, Mary Lou Falcone, confirmed the death, saying that Mr. Cliburn had been treated for bone cancer and that he died at his home, which he shared with Thomas L. Smith, who survives him." 

Smith is never mentioned again in the entire obit. A Google search finds other obituaries describing Smith as Van Cliburn's long-time "companion" or "friend." Was the pianist gay? In Wikipedia, his personal life section says only: "In 1998, Cliburn was named in a lawsuit by his alleged domestic partner of seventeen years, mortician Thomas Zaremba."

The obit does later mention the palimony suit and references his homosexuality -- from discreet to less so. But it NEVER mentions Smith again. I'd have thought after the whole Susan Sontag incident -- and in the midst of the marriage equality revolution -- the New York Times would have gotten this right. Were we expecting too much? I'm pretty sure the Gray Lady generally doesn't list "friends" as survivors.

UPDATE: Not sure why I have gotten flak about why I -- or Jim, really -- questioned this at all. (It was always about the paper, not about Cliburn.) Equality is equality, so we just thought it was odd how the Times seemed to be struggling with how to identify Cliburn's partner. Perhaps Smith DID want to be called a "home sharer"(!), but somehow I doubt it. Whatever the case, the Times HAS rewritten the obituary to make it more in line with how other survivors of the deceased are noted -- moving Smith to the end of the obituary instead of at the top -- which leads me to believe we were on to something. The third-to-last graf now reads:

 He is survived by Thomas L. Smith, with whom he shared his home for many years.

The part about "sharing his home" still strikes me as odd -- don't all couples tend to "share homes"? -- and Smith is still only mentioned the once. But I do think it's an improvement.

Comma Chameleon

My fellow copy editor brother Bill got a surprise in the mail yesterday -- an advance reading copy of his new book, "Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk" (out June 18). It's his third language-related screed -- "Lapsing Into a Comma" came out in 2000 and "The Elephants of Style" in 2004 -- and is available for pre-order HERE.  Congrats, Bill!

Mug Shot Wednesday

  I'm guessing this anger-management candidate obtained that shiner during a brawl at a bonfire in (where else) Florida that left one 19-year-old dead.  

What Brings Out the Bachelor's Beast?

   Sean Lowe explains here:

Fisher Out of Water

 Carrie Fisher being hospitalized because her meds were out whack I can handle. It's her being reduced to performing on RSVP cruises that's breaking my heart. Is Debbie Reynolds managing her money or something?

Song of the Day: 'Obscurity Knocks' by The Trash Can Sinatras

From the band's delightful 1990 debut, "Cake." The Scottsmen are back together, although I've yet to catch them in concert. How about a double bill with Aztec Camera, guys?

Here Come the Grooms

Congrats to "Florent: Queen of the Meat Market" producer/director David Sigal, who tied the knot with his partner, Brad Hoylman, Friday in Manhattan. Read HERE.

My report from the "Florent" premiere HERE.

Morning Wood

From HERE.

Page 1 Consider (02/27)

How do you like that artsy "impressionist" cover photo? Read HERE.

Drag Queen's Little Edie Is Big!

I have to say, the idea of sitting through an episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race" is about as appealing as listening to Madonna's "Hard Candy." But even I have to agree with Rich Juzwiak that Jinkx Monsoon's Little Edie (Bouvier Beale) impersonation is just about the best thing ever. (Note the judges are MTV's Julie Brown and Downtown Julie Brown!) Gawker has the clip HERE.

James Deen Does 'Community' Service

James Deen, star of films like "James Deen Does Them All" and "Joanna Angel's European Vacation," will return to Pasadena City College on Wednesday to speak in Hugo Schwyzer's "Navigating Pornography" class -- and the professor sounds like he couldn't be more excited.

"I think we ought to be proud of him as a successful alumnus and I'm welcoming him back partially on those terms," Schwyzer said. "I think he is one of our best-known famous alumni, more of my students know who he is than they do Jackie Robinson."

Keep it in your pants, teach!

Not surprisingly, Pasadena Star News reports that a school spokesman said he was unaware Schwyzer's class - Humanities 3 - dealt with pornography ...

Read HERE.

Ben Affleck Is a Smooth Operator

Suffice to say I did not approve of THIS.

Do the Rite Thing

   F**k Duane Reade and CVS -- Rite Aid is my drugstore of choice. (Their membership card is the only one that gives you actual discounts.) And you can always feel safe in their stores -- just check out their crack security team! 

Mug Shot Tuesday

  If loving this bad boy is a crime, my heart doesn't want to be within the confines of the law. From HERE.

Dead Man Hates Gray Lady

He loved everything about New York City, except the New York Times. 

Via Romenesko.

Pisses Me Off

 I really don't appreciate the automatic-flush urinal making a mockery out of my weak urine stream. 

(Gif from HERE.)

Going to a Go-Go

Congrats to Tom Gustafson and Cory Krueckeberg: "The Go Doc Project" -- the duo's film about a recent college grad who devises to shoot a documentary about the New York City nightlife scene in order to meet the go-go guy with whom he’s cyber-obsessed -- met its Kickstarter goal and will have its world premiere at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival on March 4. For tickets, click HERE.

Visit the oficial "Go Doc Project" site HERE.

Prominent Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Marriage Equality

I don't really care what the motives are of Republicans who are coming out in favor of same-sex marriage. I'll just be happy when this whole thing is over and done with, and presidential elections wont' feel so life or death. As for women and fetuses: You're on your own!