Monday, August 31, 2015

Stonewall Revisited


The Advocate has this to say about its current cover story:
Just over a year ago Advocate contributor Matthew Hays traveled to Montreal to visit the set of the film Stonewall, where he spoke with director Roland Emmerich about the production. The openly gay German filmmaker, best known for his blockbusters Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, tells The Advocate, “This is very personal for me. I wanted to do it now, as I’m very active in the marriage equality movement. I thought now is the time to do this.”  
Emmerich and screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz (Brothers and Sisters, The Slap) decided the landmark moment should be told through the very personal lens of one character. British actor Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) plays Danny, a lost young man, longing to find other people like himself.  
In early August 2015, more than a year after visiting the Stonewall set in Montreal, the first trailer for the film was released. In short order, online publications and commenters accused Emmerich of “white-washing” the Stonewall story. Emmerich responded on his Facebook page: “I understand that following the release of our trailer there have been initial concerns about how this character’s involvement is portrayed, but when this film—which is truly a labor of love for me—finally comes to theaters, audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there—including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Ray Castro—and all the brave people who sparked the civil rights movement which continues to this day. We are all the same in our struggle for acceptance.”
Read HERE.

Butt What?


Get to the bottom of this HERE.

Respecting Our Tennis Elders

As the U.S. Open gets under way, wanted to share two good articles about people who helped the game become what it is today.


Billie Jean King makes a great point about the so-called Original 9 HERE.
While I wish a fund had been created to take care of these players, that remains a pipe dream. But they are so deserving of recognition and support. While the window may have closed on financial support for these trailblazers, there are steps that can be taken to secure their legacy in the sport.


And Sally Jenkins pays tribute to Jimmy Evert HERE.
With him dies the original blueprint for how to create a healthy young champion, how to handle the tender bones and mind of a prodigy with restraint. He refused to pressure his daughter by ever putting her, or himself, up for sale.

Wichita Linesman


Are You Good Enough to Be a Tennis Line Judge?
 
The Wall Street Journal has a horrifyingly fun interactive game to test your ability as a line judge -- and let it suffice to say John McEnroe would not have liked me much! Play HERE.

Cayne and Able


  I'm starting to think the real lesson to be learned from "I Am Cait" is that Candis Cayne needs her own show.

P.S. To be clear, I'm not saying this because she's "pretty" or "feminine" or "can pass." I'm saying this because she's not an internationally famous multimillionaire who can solve most of her problems by throwing money at them. She's a trans woman who is facing everyday issues of the trans community. Sure, she's an actress and like Cait, not your garden-variety trans person. But it's her vivacious personality combined with her modest life that makes her such a compelling figure, one perfect for a reality television show.

Oh, and Jennifer Finney Boylan for president!

Chrissie Hynde's 'Reckless' Comments


Oh, Chrissie. There's only one explanation for THIS nonsense: Someone has A MEMOIR to hawk.


Virginia Killer Whined About Lack of Sex and His Escort Days


Narcissist doesn't even begin to explain this vile excuse of a man.

The Daily News reports:
Vester Lee Flanagan lamented shortly before gunning down two journalists on live TV that his glory days as a $2,000-a-night male escort were behind him, stunning new documents reveal. The typed and handwritten letters, as well as photographs, driver’s licenses and student IDs, were shown to the Daily News by one of Flanagan’s close friends, Robert Avent, who says he spoke to the calm and collected killer moments before he committed suicide as cops closed in on him last Wednesday. The notes provide a new window into the megalomaniacal madman’s mental state as he made the decision to exact revenge for an unsuccessful career filled with perceived racial slights. In the stream-of-consciousness-style letters Flanagan, 41, is alternately cheery, reflective, apologetic for any hurt he caused Avent and eager to reveal the “raw truth” that racist gunman Dylann Roof’s massacre of nine black churchgoers inspired his own decision to kill. “I do NOT wanna get old ... HELL NO!!!” Flanagan wrote. “Please keep working out player ... when the heads stop turning, it’s AWFUL!!!” Flanagan, apparently obsessed about his fading looks, recalled his life as a sex worker.“I totally CANNOT score right now ...,” Flanagan wrote. “And this is from a man who used to be paid hundreds an HOUR to sleep with men...one was a hot YOUNG guy in SF...he once asked, ‘Can I f--- you?’ He offered to give me $1,000...I playfully said, ‘No.’ Well, he gave me 2k.” But Flanagan’s creepy confessional to his friend and former roommate in Vallejo, Calif., was far from over. As he fled a manhunt around 7 a.m. Wednesday following the rampage near Roanoke, Va., he texted Avent. “Please do not respond to this text,” the perplexing message said, according to Avent, who said he didn’t see it until he woke up. Flanagan admitted he did something “very bad,” but didn’t say what, Avent said. “I’m sorry,” Flanagan wrote, according to Avent. “I had no other choice.”
Keep reading HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Gymnopedie No. 1' by Erik Satie


One of the perks of dating someone who'd only seen one Woody Allen movie before you'd met is getting to introduce him to the complete works of Woody Allen, without question my favorite filmmaker. After working our way through an early slapstick gem ("Bananas"), some of the classics ("Manhattan," "Annie Hall," "Play It Again, Sam," "Hannah and Her Sisters") and some of his best work from the '80s ("Broadway Danny Rose," "The Purple Rose of Cairo," "Crimes and Misdemeanors" -- some of which might also qualify as classics, depending on the day), I decided to show him one I'd only seen on home video when it came out in 1988. My recollection of "Another Woman" was somewhat faint -- what I remember more than anything is that I'd rented it from Tower Video in Tempe, Ariz., while attending Arizona State University and accidentally kept it for weeks, racking up something like $90 in late fees, back when owning a VHS movie really did cost in the hundreds. So what a treat it was to watch it again as a fully formed (I'd like to think!) adult, especially one at a similar crossroad in life as the film's principal, Marion Post, exquisitely played by the great Gena Rowlands. Not only did I come to appreciate the restrained touch Allen brought to this dramatic and thought-provoking film -- as opposed to "Interiors," a much more heavy-handed attempt at the genre -- everything about the picture connected with me this time around, from Betty Buckley and Sandy Dennis' small-but-pivotal scenes to the surprise of seeing Frances Conroy (the mom on "Six Feet Under") and Martha Plimpton (as Marion's stepdaughter) to the film's profound dialogue and haunting soundtrack, none more so than Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1," dba Marion's theme. When it ended, we discovered that it was recently announced that Rowlands, now 85, would be receiving an honorary Oscar this fall at the Governors Awards, a distinction her performance in "Another Woman" undoubtedly played a part in.


Morning Wood


Page 1 Roundup (08/31)













Sunday, August 30, 2015

Must-She TV


Well, I'm set for the night.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Five-Hanky Tale


#NoChildLeftBehind

Friday, August 28, 2015

Stephen Colbert Moves Into the Ed Sullivan Theatre


Excited for Stephen Colbert, although it looks weird for David Letterman not to be there anymore. Used to work across the street -- we all ate at Hello Deli every afternoon -- and could never imagine Dave ever going away. Now with him, Jon Stewart, Chelsea Handler and "The Colbert Report" all off the air, my DVR is feeling awfully lonely at night.

Sebastian Bach Joins All-Gay AC/DC Tribute Band GayC/DC for 'TNT'


Heartening to think that sometimes awful people really do change. My friend Matthew sends this report from the Viper Room:
It's been over 30 years since Sebastian Bach infamously wore the "AIDS kills fags dead" T-shirt and wrote lines like "her friend is doing time for kicking ass on a queer" ... and if we need any more proof than a stint on "Gilmore Girls" or a Broadway run that Sebastian Bach of Skid Row is a new man, last night he joined his pals from the all-gay AC/DC tribute band GayC/DC onstage for a rousing rendition of "TNT"!

On the Rag, Vol. 370

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay mags:



Odyssey New York doesn't want to say goodbye to summer / Online edition HERE.


Next: Meet the most stylish people in gay nightlife HERE.


Frankly, I'm more interested in the rag's new lifestyle section!


Get Out!: Meet producer, DJ and remixer Dave Audé HERE.


Metro Weekly (D.C.): Guided by faith and a powerful voice, the Broadway superstar has long been a darling of the gay community / Read HERE.


Guy (Ft. Lauderdale) tells you everything you need to know about the new organization ComingOutCuba / Online edition HERE.


Grab (Chicago): Meet "Throwing Shade" podcaster Bryan Safi / Online edition HERE.

Let's Talk About Tech


Mesh for Fantasy


It's not really relevant to what happened, but it's interesting to learn that the sick fuck who executed two former TV news colleagues in Roanoke, Va., used to be a hooker of sorts.

UpROARious!


Postcard From Provincetown Carnival 2015


Just now seeing this from BosGuy. Looks like everyone had a great time!

Mesa, Arizona: No. 38 (With a Bullet)


With a population of nearly half a million, my (second) childhood home isn't the quaint place it used to be.

Song of the Day: 'Music That You Can Dance To' by Sparks


Was never a huge fan of the Mael brothers, but I did like this song.

Morning Wood


Seen HERE.

Page 1 Roundup (08/28)



The father of Alison Parker asks: 'How many Alisons is this going to happen to before we stop it?' Read HERE.