iPad spoof
This was too funny to not post! Enjoy. 
DADT Repeal on the Horizon
Today was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell day on Capitol Hill. With Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Admiral Mullen offered his personal view thusly:
“Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”
Robert Gates announced that there would be a investigative study launched that should conclude by the end of the year as to how to go about repeal with implementation starting shortly thereafter and probably taking another year to complete. There was also talk of enacting stop-loss measures to prevent further discharges under DADT, such as not investigating people who are outed by third parties.
Of course there was the typical backlash. AMERICAblog caught John McCain’s flip-flop from a statement in 2006 about how we should listen when military leaders say it’s time for repeal to his flip-out today about how a thousand retired admirals and generals had signed a petition against change. Guess he’s more interested in the opinions of retired military leaders who agree with him than what the people who actually run the military think.
Watch Admiral Mullen’s full statement after the jump.
Cool word of the day
This is an awesome word. I just had to post it:
machination \mack-uh-NAY-shuhn; mash-\, noun:1. The act of plotting.
2. A crafty scheme; a cunning design or plot intended to accomplish some usually evil end.
If you’re a word hound like I am you should definitely check out Dictionary.com!
University of Pacific hosts LGBTQIA Conference
Come to Stockton, California on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 for “It Takes a Rainbow: Bridging the Mountains to the Bay” Northern California LGBTQIA Conference at University of the Pacific. Full day and evening of presentations, workshops, entertainment, networking session for LGBTQIA organizations and more! Featuring keynote speaker, Peter Paige from Queer As Folk, and entertainment by Miss Coco Peru! Visit http://lgbtqia.pacific.edu for more information. Early-bird registration is only $20 before January 30, 2010.
Badlands!
Badlands in the Castro is the Bay’s perennial dancing hotspot. If cheap drinks and a decent dance floor are what you’re looking for you then Badlands is the place you want to go, on pretty much any given night of the week. Also: 2 for 1 drinks!
The club promotes itself as a “Video Dance Club” which apparently is there way of saying: We have TVs everywhere that show the music videos of the songs we’re playing! Which also guarantees two things: 1. You will see Lady GaGa in a body suit at some point during the night and 2. They mostly play typical top 100 fare. Which isn’t to say the music’s bad (well sometimes they do go on an 80’s trip which results in the dance floor clearing out pretty rapidly) but it isn’t spectacular either. However did I mention 2 for 1 drinks?
The crowd is pretty diverse, which is nice. Given the sort of Neapolitan nature of the gay community, sometimes its rare to find a place where all different flavors can congregate and not tear each others weaves out. People run the gamut from twinks to bears to drag queens. There’s even a few straight people, which I’ll choose to overlook. Also: two for one drinks.
All-in-all Badlands isn’t exotic and it’s really nothing special but they are pretty good at what they do and it does seem to be the one bar in the Castro that you can rely on to not be deserted, which is a perk. Oh and their bartenders are all rather attractive and have a propensity to wear tank tops or no shirts at all. Which is nice cause you’ll be seeing a lot of them if you want to take advantage of the two for one drinks…
Singularly sad
One of the benefits of moving to the bay from the valley is getting to see art films that no theater in the Armpit Of California would dare show. So this weekend Mike and I ventured over to the Embarcadero Plaza to take in Tom Ford’s directorial debut in A Single Man.
The movie follows a British expat, George (Colin Firth), living and teaching in Los Angeles in the JFK era shortly after his partner, Jim (Matthew Goode), of 16 years died. Firth puts forth a pretty good performance of a man struggling with grief while still managing to at least go through the motions of everyday life. Aided by fellow emigre, fag hag and ex-lover, Charlotte (Julianne Moore), he’s managed to do pretty well. Except for the whole bit where he’s living in a world where he couldn’t even attend his partner’s funeral nor really talk about his pain with anyone.
Nicholas Hoult is the kind of stalker I'd like to have
This all has apparently taken its toll as George start’s the film outby tucking a gun into his brief case and clearing out his office at work. Coupled with the seemingly inevitable downfall of the entire human race by nuclear holocaust, Firth’s character seems determined to end things before they get worse.
This plan comes to fruition in a surprisingly humorous scene involving a sleeping bag and said gun but is ruined by the subsequent intervention of fag hag who is still in love with him and a stunningly pretty student (Jonathan Hoult – See:blue eyes) who has been stalking George throughout the entire film.
The film is beautifully shot and full of beautiful people too. Granted, Tom Ford’s penchant for svelte young men shows
Do all Spaniards look this good?
through but there’s a distinct emphasis on beauty of all types, from sunset’s (Which prompted my new favorite quote, “Sometimes even an awful thing has its own kind of beauty”) to flowers to animals to Julianne Moore. The film has a peculiar use of color that I found interest – for the most part the film is drab and washed out, except for when something happens that makes George feel more alive and suddenly the screen is awash in color. Hollywood’s recent obsession with mood coloring has gotten a little drab but this was a refreshing take that had a pretty good affect.
A Single Man also tackles some pretty weighty issues but does so in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve been preached to. Ironically the underlying message seems to be the validity and staying power of homosexual relationships but almost the entirety of the film focuses on superficial aspects, so I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. Though to be fair George doesn’t actually sleep with anybody in what appears to be some sense of loyalty to his deceased spouse.
Overall the film is visually enticing and pretty moving (Firth’s waterworks display is pretty impressive, if nothing else), though the ending left something to be desired but I won’t spoil that part for you. If you get the chance, go see it so at least you’ll know why it wins whatever Oscar inevitably comes its way.
This Seems a Little Gay
Need some scholastic gayness drama to get you through the Glee midseason break? Then Spike, it seems, is looking to fill that void with Blue Mountain State…
Up In The Air gets a thumbs up
So I had a chance to take in Up In The Air last night. I think George Clooney is a great actor and I really liked the flick. It was a traditional (semi) love story that had some pretty nice contemporary slants that kept it from simply being another run of the mill chick flick. There was some really sharp banter throughout the film and the plot was genuinely good. It tells the story of a man who hides and drowns himself in his work in able to stave off getting emotionally involved with anyone. Watching him evolve into a more functional, intimate place in his life was a fun ride that many of us can relate to. It also touched a little bit on some of the harsh realities that corporate America is reeling from right now and focused on the most heart-wrenching aspect: people losing their jobs. What I really liked about Up In The Air is that it didn’t dwell too much on any one sub plot so the movie kept moving at a nice, brisk pace. It didn’t really stall anywhere and that is a big plus for any film. My favorite line was when Clooney’s character was trying to explain why someone might want to get married and share their life with someone he quips, “Everyone needs a copilot.” The film kept a light-hearted tone throughout and you get to see many cool shots from placees all over the country. And let’s face it, George Clooney is just nice to look at. I hope beyond hope I still look that good when I reach my late 40’s!
Drag “Drag Me to Hell” to the Dumpster
Sam Raimi deserves to be strapped into a chair, alone, in a dark room and forced to watch his own films over and over and over again until his eyes bleed.
That is the conclusion I reached after watching Drag Me to Hell.
First Mr. Raimi ravaged a favorite childhood franchise of mine in the form of Spider-Man 3. Not only did he turn the Venom saga into a dance number studded emo flick but also completely emasculated Eddie Brock’s character. It made me want to track him down and beat him senseless with my comic book collection.
Now though he’s turned his campy theatrics to the horror genre. Thus, what should have been a terrifying mix of The Exorcist and The Ring was in fact a off-beat mix of confusion and ridiculous. I think I stopped paying attention in between an old gypsy woman pulling a concrete block out of her anus and smashing a car window with it and blood inexplicably shooting out of the main character’s nose like a water gun.
The one good scene near the end featuring a seance, a goat and a floating possessed man was practically ruined when the next 20 minutes of the movie are focused on little miss cursed sitting a diner alone pondering whether to shove her fate onto some unsuspecting chump.
Basically if you do by some cruel twist of fate come into possession of this movie do yourself a favor and use it as coaster. You’ll save two hours of your life and actually get some use out of it!
Helping LGBT Youth
Geoff Kors of EQCA recently had an op-ed in the Bay Area Reporter announcing EQCA’s new student internship program. It’s worth a read:
Originally appeared in the Bay Area Reporter
Jim Nickoff, my best friend of more than 20 years, came out at age 15 in 1978, a time when very few teenagers came out and even fewer services were available for LGBT youth. The pain he suffered after being rejected by his family, his faith, and community was overwhelming. Jim was determined to heal the wounds, but they never healed no matter how hard he worked at it. The realization that the pain would not end became unbearable. On December 16, 2007, he committed suicide at the age of 44.
Jim not only worked hard to overcome the harm he suffered as a youth, but he also worked hard to prevent other youth from going through what he did. He devoted his life to the fight for equality and created opportunities for LGBT youth through his work at Equality California and many other LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations.
