Cowboys and Pretendians

Tribes Balk at Dartmouth’s Native American Director

Groups are accusing the new hire of misrepresenting her heritage 

I have no idea if Susan Taffe Reed is of Native descent or not, but I do know that braid and feathers -- along with her saying "I have participated in Native American ceremonies and powwow dancing since I was a little girl" -- aren't helping her case.

Is this whole racial misrepresentation phenomenon something new, or were we just not hearing about it as much pre-Internet?

Freedom From Religion

Follow me HERE and friend me HERE.

South Dakota Vice Principal Subdues Student, 16, Who Shot School Principal

When I saw the news flash this morning about a school shooting in South Dakota I immediately thought of W saying we had to "fight 'em there" so we don't have to fight 'em here -- yet all I ever hear about is Americans being slaughtered by other Americans with guns here at home. Happy to hear this had a decent outcome. And how cute is assistant principal Ryan Rollinger, who has been hailed a hero for tackling the gunman?

Prince Harry: 'Not Ready to Settle Down'

The Daily News has the latest on Prince Ginger, reporting that the royal heartthrob admitted today that he wasn't quite ready to "settle down," saying he had a "lot of things to get done" first. The bearded fifth in line to the throne was speaking as he joined a group of intrepid ex-servicemen and women who are midway through on an inspirational 1,000 mile trek across Britain. (Good thinking, Harry: That beard is way too sexy for just one person to enjoy.)

Kaley Cuoco Ended Marriage to Ryan Sweeting 'Because He Was Addicted to Painkillers After Back Surgery'

According to the venerable Us Weekly, "Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco left hubby Ryan Sweeting because the tennis pro became addicted to pain killers following back surgery in 2014 -- and he supposedly "refused" to get help. Sad. I see what my mom has been going through following her spinal surgery in April and it's rough.  Here's hoping he is able to turn things around. He was so handsome with his pornstache awhile back.

From HERE.

'Mommie' Issues

With news that Faye Dunaway is finally ready to talk "Mommie Dearest" in an upcoming memoir, Michael Musto reminds us that the definitive book on the subject -- of just how Joan Faye became -- is actually "The Mommie Dearest Diary," written by none of than the woman who played trust assistant Carol Ann, Rutanya Alda. Get the dish HERE.

Smooth Operator

Do not watch this VANDINI ad unless you want to see model Michael Lewis rub lotion all over his naked body. Watch HERE.

Bi-Curious Dilemma

Apparently Bisexual Visibility Week came and went again without so much as a threeway. Just what are we to make of those people?

It’s a common enough story that we’re all familiar with the beats: You hook up with a guy who tells you he’s bi and after a few weeks of “dating,” when you try to take things to the next level, he breaks it to you that he doesn’t see a relationship with another man for himself. The immediate assumption is that you’ve been led on and that this self-proclaimed bisexual is probably just a gay guy too chicken s–t to own up to being gay. That incorrect assumption, I argued, is where a lot of the hostility from within the gay and lesbian community toward bisexual people actually comes from. While same-sex sexual encounters may come naturally for some men, romantic interactions between those same men and other guys may not be nearly as instinctive.

Read HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Catch Me I'm Falling' by Pretty Poison

Not quite as good as T'Pau and Nu Shooz's hits from the era, but a late '80s classic nonetheless.

Former frontwoman Jade Starling -- looking good as ever -- has been making the rounds lately, sending out this recent email:

Summer 2015 has been nothing short of AMAZING . Highlighted by appearances in Denver, San Jose, San Antonio & El Paso. "Better and Better" has been my highest charting single on the Billboard Dance Airplay chart since "Catch Me I'm Falling"! I've met a lot of amazing people and am hard at work on the next release. I love all of my fans and want to make you proud of my resurgence. This would never be possible without your support. Sincerely, Jade xoxo

XES Lounge Being Forced Out by New Landlord

More depressing news for Chelsea's gay scene: The owners of XES Lounge posted a notice on the bar's Facebook page on Tuesday saying the building's new owners have given them until the end of the year to vacate the premises. (Read below, they say the new investors want to tear the building down.) I'm heartened by the fact that they say they intend to fight this, which actually worked for Pieces, which went through a similar thing in the West Village a few years ago. Here's hoping there's a similar happy ending for XES -- it's become my Chelsea go-to in recent years and its closure would be yet another devastating blow to the neighborhood. 

Show the boys your support on Facebook HERE.

Morning Wood

Page 1 Roundup (09/30)

Republicans' ongoing war on women has hit an all-time low. 

When Bobby Met Patti

I wasn't sure I was going to read "M Train," Patti Smith's follow-up memoir to the award-winning "Just Kids," until I saw this tidbit about it in The Wall Street Journal:

One surreal encounter that Ms. Smith describes—and has discussed publicly—is an all-night meeting with the chess prodigy [Bobby Fischer] in Reykjavik. After some initial awkwardness the two found common ground by singing the songs of Buddy Holly and others from the golden age of rock ’n’ roll. At one point, Ms. Smith recalls, Fischer’s bodyguard burst in on the meeting, alarmed by hearing “something strange.” It turned out to be the chess champ singing the falsetto chorus from “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

Order HERE.

Pretty Persuasion

Plenty more where this came from HERE.

Sign Language

Underoos Never Looked So Sexy

If this counts as rookie hazing for the Mets, then call me a frat boy!

Form l. to r.: Savannah Sand Gnats manager Jose Leger in The Flash, Sean Gilmartin in Skeletor, Steven Matz in Sueprman, Erik Goeddel in Boba Fett, Michael Conforto in Ewoks, Kevin Plawecki in Captain America, Dilson Herrera in Shazam, Logan Verrett in Batman, Hansel Robles in Darth Vader and Noah Syndergaard in He-Man.

Now if only SEXY David Wright would show up as Aquaman!

When a Cover Song Isn't Really a 'Cover'

Great piece about cover songs by Ben Zimmer in The Wall Street Journal, inspired by indie rocker Ryan Adams' full remake of Taylor Swift’s “1989,” consisting of cover versions of all the songs from her top-selling album. He writes that while Mr. Adams takes a musical homage to extreme lengths, the “cover” has been a basic bit of music-industry lingo for nearly 70 years.

Zimmer explains the entire history of the practice -- labels wanting to cash in on popular songs by having their own artists re-record the hits of the day -- but what I found most interesting is that he touched on something I've wondered all along:

If you never heard the original, is it really a true "cover" as the term was coined by Billboard back in the day? (He cites Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" as a prime example.)

I can think of a dozen songs off the top of my head that I didn't know weren't originals:

"Bette Davis Eyes" (Jackie DeShannon/Kim Carnes)

"{There's) Always Something There to Reminds Me" (Lou Johnson/Naked Eyes)

"Tainted Love" (Gloria Jones/Soft Cell)

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Arrows/Joan Jett and the Blackhearts)

"Come Back and Stay" (Jack Lee/Paul Young), etc.

Billboard defined a "cover" as a song you know that's been recorded by another artist. I guess the thinking is songs like the ones I've listen above are more akin to what people like Barbra, Liza and Whitney do -- record material written by others, which doesn't necessarily make them true "covers."

(This, of course, is not the same thing as being musically ignorant, like a cashier who was shocked to find out "This Woman's Work" wasn't a Maxwell original or a 40-year-old bar patron who thought Bananarama penned "Venus.")

I know it's strictly semantics, but I kinda like this stricter definition -- which means“Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia isn't a cover (even though it was originally by Ednaswap) and Sheryl Crow's "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is.

P.S. Speaking of gender-flipped covers, I'm obsessed with them ... as I wrote HERE.

Caption Me

Kaley Cuoco Files for Divorce From Tennis Pro Ryan Sweeting

Anyone have any big breakup theories? He's a HOT PIECE OF ASS.

"Prior to announcing their split, the highest paid TV actress hinted at their breakup by deleting nearly all photos of Sweeting from her Instagram account." (Us Weekly) 

Song of the Day: 'Shattered Dreams' by Johnny Hates Jazz

One of the biggest singles of 1988, when INXS and Rick Astley ruled the charts. Who remembers Johnny's other Top 40 hit?

Morning Wood

Page 1 Roundup (09/29)