06/20/2007
News: Pride Dying, Airbus, Idol: The Musical, Glastonbury
New York Gay Pride in financial trouble due to disinterest.
Art project: Werewolf research kit for sale on eBay.
The lowdown on this year's Frameline film festival in San Francisco, which continues thru June 24.
Idol: The Musical, about obsessed student fans of the music competition, is headed to off-Broadway: "There are eight of them; all belonging to the same cult-like club that meets daily in a barn that doubles as a shrine to Clay Aiken. They are actively ridiculed by the rest of Steubenville; a humiliating situation that doesn't deter their quest for all things Clay. They are victims of A.D.D., Ritalin, their misguided obsessions and their innocent longing for their elusive '15 minutes.' One of them pumps gas. One of them is home-schooled. One of them is a genius. And one of them is a basketball phenom who would rather be a Chippendales dancer."
Airbus has announced that a mystery rich foreigner has ordered a double-decker A380 to serve as his/her private jet: " "It will be for personal use for him and his entourage. I can't tell you who it is but he's not from Europe or the United States." Customization is expected to take more than a year The Airbus itself cost more than $300 million.
Britain's Got Talent winner, opera singer Paul Potts, signs £1 million worldwide record deal with Simon Cowell: "Paul revealed he had a new fan in former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox. Paul said: 'I saw Annie Lennox the morning after I'd won and she said she'd seen my performance and wished me well.'"
Mudbath expected at UK's Glastonbury festival as hordes troop in.
The new John Lennon and Yoko Ono? A reminder.
Work: Rupert Murdoch building $400,000 penthouse gym.
In America, can you get famous for impersonating someone famous for doing nothing?
Author ponders an Earth without people: "According to Weisman, large parts of our physical infrastructure would begin to crumble almost immediately. Without street cleaners and road crews, our grand boulevards and superhighways would start to crack and buckle in a matter of months. Over the following decades many houses and office buildings would collapse, but some ordinary items would resist decay for an extraordinarily long time. Stainless-steel pots, for example, could last for millennia, especially if they were buried in the weed-covered mounds that used to be our kitchens. And certain common plastics might remain intact for hundreds of thousands of years; they would not break down until microbes evolved the ability to consume them."
Sicko to get early release in Manhattan after this week's internet leak.
The top 10 deadliest animals.
Posted 1:30 PM EST by Andy in American Idol, Art & Design, Clay Aiken, Film, Global Warming, Great Britain, Michael Moore, Nature, News, Rupert Murdoch, San Francisco, Theatre, Transportation | Permalink
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Wow - Photoshop job on Dane Cook's arms and abs, we assume?
Posted by: Mike | Jun 20, 2007 1:48:50 PM
When Dane Cook is in a movie, it should just go straight to video.
Posted by: stan | Jun 20, 2007 2:05:35 PM
Wow, that article in the Observer made me so MAD! Disintrested, ok, fine. But the reasons why people in the article are "disinterested" are appalling. How can there be a true gay community when so many privledged, visable gay men are so fabulously exclusionary!? Hmmm. I guess once you make it over the rainbow everything becomes about "me, me, me."
Posted by: zglass | Jun 20, 2007 2:37:33 PM
Its gay people like those quoted in the Observer article that actually make me question the purpose of the Gay Pride Parade any more. I have nothing in common with selfish, annoying 20 year old gay people. Gay Pride Parades brought a community together. There really is no community now, as illustrated by those assholes at the Phoenix.
On another note, the Gay Pride Parade is extremely crowded and obnoxious. I dont go because of lack of pride, I dont go because why put up with parade culture in New York city at all? The entire thing needs to be reconceived, shortened, moved, I dont know, it needs SOMETHING. You cant keep doing the same route and same types of things for over 30 years.
Posted by: gregoire | Jun 20, 2007 2:49:05 PM
I dont know, I went to the Pride Parades in SF and in NYC once (I lived in NYC now) and that's enough for me. And I'm black and educated and all that and it the parade doesnt seem declasse to me at all-it seems corporate, shallow and boring-I cant really recall a political message, esp. at the NYC one. And the NYC one is extremely long and it really is uncomfortable. That being said, I dont think it should die off, but it has to be improved. I think there is a health and political crisis in the gay scene-it's just not so obvious as before, and gay men are really smug and complacent as can be seen by the comments in the article.
Posted by: Charles | Jun 20, 2007 2:55:08 PM
re: Pride Parade
Wow. That was some story The Observer put together. I imagine they did not have to look too hard for quotes like the ones they got from those guys at G and Phoenix.
In any event, I think the "disinterest" stems not from one cause, but many including class, race, social and generational trends. Perhaps in 20 years we'll look back and see among the sign posts of change that the "disinterest" in the parade as it was, was in fact a not so silent demand for change and relevancy.
I've been to many NYC Pride parades over the years and yes, it can be long and yes, you tend to wait for the floats filled with hot guys, but I was (am) thankful that I live in a city in which this parade happens. How pride parades of any size, shape or form are happening in Tupelo, MS or Sioux Falls, South Dakota?
(both of which are lovely places, I'm sure.)
Posted by: hoya86 | Jun 20, 2007 3:30:50 PM
£1 million and meeting Annie Lennox?!? What-EVER!
Posted by: JOHN IN MANHATTAN | Jun 20, 2007 3:54:04 PM
In response to GREGOIRE:
The way I see it, we all have a LOT in common with those twenty year old gay people, excluding, in some cases, being selfish and annoying. We have a common history, we share common experiences, we face common obstacles and threats. We have a LOT in common.
Now, true, it's "cool" to be 20 and gay and ambivalent (ie. selfish and annoying). But, really, as spelled out clearly in the article, it's also "cool" to be 30 or 40 something and gay and ambivalent (the older guys quoted came off just as selfish and annoying). Might I suggest here lies the disconnect? Why would a young member of the "community" understand the relevance of something like the Pride March, when the older members of the community don't understand it either?
I say "understand" because I think the March has great significance and relevance to, as Larry Kramer would put it, "today's gays." Contrary to what one of the older-than-20 guys says in the article (Mr. Everyday Is Gay Pride) we don't find ourselves in some sort of euphoric, all-accepting, live and let live moment - not even here in New York City where gay people are still beaten and killed for who they are. So, a demonstration of our numbers and, more importantly, that we recognize all of us, of all ages and stripes, are IN THIS TOGETHER - is extremely important to all of us.
But first we have to remember that there still is a "THIS". And then we have to recognize that, like it or not, we ARE all in this together.
The rights I enjoy we're earned by others. I recognize this, and I respect that I am privledged to live my life in ways that others were not. And I want gay folks who come later to enjoy rights you and I currently are not allowed to enjoy.
Given all this, shouldn't we all be AT LEAST interested to go to the March? You'd think. But, of course, the March has largely lost all elements of it's once political nature. It's become a "celebration" of ... I guess non-repression? Which is sort-of good, certainly titilating, but also a bit sad and ironic. If all those great patriots who fought as the police raided Stonewall knew that their great bravery would afford us a day to be Proud and we used it to prove we looked good in a speedo and work boots, would they think us worthy of their sacrifice?
Ok, lots more than just a response to Gregoire's comment, but a point of departure.
Posted by: zglass | Jun 20, 2007 3:57:45 PM
Ugh...Andy when you link to Breitbart.com, please give a warning...I'd rather not support that site by going there...it's a right wing site, owned by the conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart.
Posted by: peterparker | Jun 20, 2007 4:11:26 PM
Don't think I'll hit the parade, not cuz I'm selfish just cuz I might be recovering. Anyone know any good parties this weekend in the city?
Posted by: Dave | Jun 20, 2007 4:13:14 PM
Talking with guys from the Tri-State area the last couple of weeks and many were comparing pride fests in various cities and small towns, so I would say there is plenty of interest, but perhaps no longer as concentrated in NYC as it once was. Pride fests start at the end of May and keep going for weeks in different places, moving from place to place each weekend. It seems to still be important to many kids just coming to attend a pride fest somewhere, anywhere, to feel better about their situation. After that, it's your typical show of political power, as with the various ethnic festivals.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jun 20, 2007 4:33:25 PM
correction: "...kids just coming OUT to..."
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jun 20, 2007 4:35:29 PM
Personally I see it as a positive sign that interest in gay pride is dwindling. Personally, I would never march in a Caucasian Pride parade, and I would never march in a Male Pride parade. I'm not proud to be either of those things, but neither am I proud. I just simply "am." That's how I feel about being gay. I'm not ashamed and I'm not proud. I'll be so happy when it's a non-issue for everyone.
Posted by: Chesnut | Jun 20, 2007 4:56:39 PM
Oops...typo above. I meant to say "I'm not proud to be either of those things, but neither am I ashamed."
Posted by: Chesnut | Jun 20, 2007 4:58:50 PM
Chestnut : That's exactly how I feel about it too. (But I guess it's okay for those who need it or want it). I remember, of all people, Quentin Crisp made a funny statement about that. He said he wasn't proud nor ashamed of being homosexual, since he didn't choose it, but that a person can be proud of their achievements, like (from his philosophy) choosing the exactly right pocket handkerchief to match ones tie.
Posted by: Joe T. | Jun 20, 2007 5:12:09 PM
Talk about global warming--an airbus for personal use?
Posted by: Daniel | Jun 20, 2007 5:38:19 PM
Joe T., I loved Quentin for his humor but he was hardly a model of self esteem.
Posted by: Daniel | Jun 20, 2007 5:40:36 PM
Sorry to be a pedant, but I winced at the use of "disinterested" here. The use of the word IS changing these days through misuse, but it still primarily denotes 'non-prejudiced impartiality' where I think Andy meant 'lack of interest' or 'indifference'. I was certain that it was an ironic use, or quoted from the article, but I didn't find the word in searching the Observer text. I'll be cowering in the corner with my dictionaries when the rocks start flying my way...
Posted by: Greg | Jun 20, 2007 8:48:41 PM
Re: Deadliest animals.
Shouldn't "human" have been listed as the deadliest animal?
Surely more people are killed by war, murder, and even drunk
driving, than by all the elephants, snakes, and sharks combined.
Posted by: gr8guyca | Jun 20, 2007 11:17:33 PM
LCD Soundsystem - "New York: I love you but you're getting me down."
What I'm increasingly "over" is NYC. What is it about this place that continues to think it actually has an impact on anything else in gay culture? and as far as "G" and the "Phonenix" are concerned - do modern gay guys still go to bars like this?
Posted by: resurrect | Jun 21, 2007 12:24:16 AM
Daniel : I just thought it was funny that the ultimate definitive swishy poof made a point I so agree with, but in his own particular silly way.
Posted by: Joe T. | Jun 21, 2007 1:09:50 AM
Hiya!
Re TEN DEADLIEST ANIMALS: As a Queer Australian, I'm displeased we only got three of mentions, with the Box Jellyfish and the Great White Shark and the Salt-Water Croc. The rest of the critters on the list are wimps compared to even the most innocuous of Aussie Fauna!!- Cobras?! Bah! 9 out of the 10 deadliest snakes in the world still call Australia home, including the deadliest (the Inland Taipan or Fierce Snake). We have the world's most deadly spider (Sydney Funnel-Web); the world's most deadly fish (Stonefish) and the world's only deadly species of octopus (Blue-Ring)...even the cute widdle male Playtypus has a venomous sting on its hind leg, for pete's sake! If an Aussie animal is incapable of wounding, poisoning or envenomating a person, we make it move next door to New Zealand *g*.
Re GOOD LUCK CHUCK. Dane Cook is hot. Shame he's about as funny as a prostate exam conducted by Freddy Krueger...
Posted by: Wirrrn | Jun 21, 2007 6:42:35 AM
Re: NYC gay pride. Have you been lately? You have to set aside a whole day for a parade that stops every block and that is less than spectacular. The rest is a logistical nightmare. No thanks!
Posted by: shane | Jun 21, 2007 7:41:54 AM
Re: Airbus. One of those French f*ckers needs to make sure this person isn't planning to fly that thing into any buildings.
Posted by: shane | Jun 21, 2007 7:48:01 AM
Excellent point, Gr8guyca. But most humans are under the delusion that we aren't animals.
Re: Dane Cook. Unless you're a straight frat boy, you're not really in his audience demographic. Still, if he and I were both drunk, I'd do him...
...then feel embarrassed the next day.
Posted by: mark m | Jun 21, 2007 10:26:02 AM
m686k
Posted by: ro766ck | Jul 4, 2007 10:47:15 PM