Why Gay "Looking" Was Canceled; Comes Out to Wife While Drunk; Calvin Klein and Same Sex Couples

Why Gay "Looking" Was Canceled

Here's a piece that talks about why "Looking" may have been canceled. The director is still a little curious about this, and I think rightly so. I'm curious.

Haigh, who served as co-producer and wrote and directed several episodes of the prematurely nixed series, told Attitude magazine’s Ben Kelly that he believes gay audiences pre-judged the show -- which starred Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett as three out pals navigating love and life in present-day San Francisco -- before allowing it to establish its footing. 

“A lot of people seemed to talk about it without actually watching it,” he said in the interview. “So many people said, ‘I didn’t watch your show, I didn’t like it,’ but they’d admit they barely watched the pilot.”

I think that could be true, too. I also think the target audience for a show like Looking wasn't all gay men. It targeted a specific segment of the gay male community, because gay men are very diverse. And yet I'm not even sure about that. I liked it and I watched. It wasn't Modern Family. Nothing against Modern Family, but it's nice to feel represented once in a while even if it didn't last for long.

There's more here.  

The comments are worth reading, too. You might see a few names you'll recognize from the gay romance community.

Comes Out to Wife While Drunk

Here's a story about a guy who gets drunk, comes out to his wife, and then denies it the next morning. If this doesn't make you wonder, nothing will.

“The next day, we were having breakfast and he was extremely hungover. I start telling him how drunk he was last night and he just laughs. Then I told him about what he did/said and he looks straight up at me really worried. I must have looked really upset because right after he said ‘everyone says stupid things when they’re drunk, forget about it.’ Then he walked off saying he needs a shower. He’s been a little distant ever since.”

Here's the link for more. Don't say I didn't warn you first :)

Calvin Klein and Same Sex Couples

Here's a link to a piece about Calvin Klein models, with couples touching each other in underwear photo shoots. Klein's always been excellent about exploiting things like this, but he does it with such an artistic flair it's never bothered me much. And I like his products. When I do wear underwear, I usually wear his. So there's that.

Well it appears that pushing the sexual fluidity envelope is a company-wide mandate — CK’s latest underwear campaign is chock full of guy-on-guy, girl-on-guy and guy-on-is-that-a-girl-or-a-guy-we-can’t-tell action.

You can see for yourselves here.  

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers 

Josh Duggar's Ashley Madison Account; Author Profile Erin O'Quinn; FREE Gay Excerpt: The Scottish Duke...Non-Gays Writing Gay Fiction in Fiction

Josh Duggar's Ashley Madison Account

Josh Duggar, of the infamous anti-gay Christian family who have more kids than Mother Hubbard and had a TV show on TLC, allegedly had  what's called an "Ashley Madison" account. I'm stating it that way because up until now, I...this gay sinner who has been married to the same person for 23 years...didn't even know there was such a thing as "Ashley Madison." I think the most important question is why would I want to know?

Evidently, Josh Duggar, also a married man, the good Christian, allegedly felt the need to have an account at Ashley Madison. If you recall, this is the good Christian who also admitted to child sex abuse a few months back.

It all started last month when Ashley Madison’s database was hacked. On Tuesday, the hackers released the names, email addresses and phone numbers for many of the site’s members, including 27-year-old “family man” Josh Duggar.

A credit card belonging to a “Joshua J. Duggar” paid a grand total of $986.76 for not one but two different monthly subscriptions to Ashley Madison, this included a $250 “affair guarantee” fee, which the website promises “increase[s] your chances of having an affair from possibly to definitely or your money back.”

You can read the rest with this link. It only devolves from here.

Author Profile Erin O'Quinn

A few months ago I met an author on Twitter I found fascinating. I first noticed how nicely she promotes herself...no games, simple, and not in your face. She gets right to the point and I found that refreshing for a change. She never posts anything that would insult gay men like some do without even realizing it. I immediately thought she was a class act and wanted to know more about her. And I'm glad I did, because I also think she's one of the women writing gay fiction who is doing excellent work.  Here's some information about Erin O'Quinn so you can see just how brilliant she really is.

Erin O'Quinn is my pen name for romance novels set in the time of St. Patrickin the turbulent time of ca. 432-433 AD when Patrick had just been sent to Ireland by the Pontiff in Rome to convert the pagans of a land even the Romans had shunned.

Few romance authors have ventured to this dark ages era of Ireland. The clan names and interrelations are complex. The Brehon law that ruled the land for centuries is likewise convoluted and multifaceted, based more on cattle (it seems) than men. I was drawn to this time and place by the very knowledge that few people had written about the setting, and about the rough clansmen, cattle barons, druids and others who had held the Romans at bay for centuries.

My abiding interest in languages, especially my fascination with the sensuous-sounding Gaelic tongue, is reflected in my novels, as well as a love for mythology, folklore, flora/fauna and the arts martial.

You can check out her books here.

And here's her Facebook account where she openly uses the name Bonita Franks. Check out her pic and her books. She's always updating her timeline and she has an author page on Amazon as well. She's different, and that's really hard to explain. You have to see some things for yourself. 

Update: Here's another link to her Erin O'Quinn account on Facebook. 

Free Gay Excerpt: The Scottish Duke...Non-Gays Writing Gay Fiction in Fiction

Here's another excerpt from the most recent release in the Rainbow Detective Agency, The Scottish Duke. There might be a few small spoilers in this one, so you've been warned. But I don't think it's anything that would ruin the ending.

"That doesn't make sense," Proctor said. "He never mentioned me in any of his books. He kept all that as ambiguous as his own private identity. No one would ever actually connect me to his books unless they knew about it ahead of time."

"This is really getting you crazy, isn't it?"

Proctor nodded. "I just can't help thinking about how that poor man must have felt. It's hard enough to be a transgender person, let alone be a gay transgender man who writes gay books. He must have lived in constant fear that someone would find out about him."

"Now there's a valid point," Blair said.

"What do you mean?" There was so much about all this Proctor didn't understand.

"I've seen what happens when a successful author who writes gay fiction but isn't gay is outed," Blair said. "I'm not talking about being gay and being outed in that sense. I'm talking about when the author is outed for not being gay. It's not pretty. Fans, book reviewers, and even readers who don't know the author go after them. It's painful to watch."

"Well that's ridiculous," Proctor said. "I’ve never heard of anything so silly and close-minded. First, E. Q. may not have been born a gay man, but he identified as one and he transitioned, which to me makes him a gay man. Second, I always thought writers who write fiction could write on any topic they want. Annie Proulx wrote Brokeback Mountain and no one crucified her. She gained nothing but praise and acclaim for her fiction in literary circles. A writer’s gender shouldn’t even be a factor in writing fiction of any kind."

Blair shrugged and held him closer. "I agree with you. I don't totally understand it either. I wish I did. All I know is there are many writers writing gay romance who aren't gay men and they live in fear they'll be discovered. I've even seen cases where they've been stalked and blackmailed by other ambitious authors."

"I just don't get that," Proctor said.

"Unfortunately, when these things happen it's usually because another author calls attention to it. There's a lot of competition out there now in the smaller book genres like gay romance and those who are highly successful like E. Q. Montana become targets by those who are not as successful. They gain personal pleasure in bringing them down, and it provides drama and entertainment for small communities of people on the Internet. I've even seen people comment in a joking way that they can't wait to get popcorn to watch the shitstorms develop. E. Q. must have wanted to avoid letting the world know he was a woman at one time."

Proctor pulled away from Blair and walked back to the desk. "I don't know what to make of it all. I've never felt this way before. The man adored me enough to write tons of books with characters based on me and I had no idea it was even happening."

"You're a very well-known man," Blair said. "I think I can understand the way E. Q. felt better than anyone on this earth. Why don't you let me take you away this coming weekend? We'll do something to get your mind off all this. We don't have to go far. We can go to that dude ranch out in Chatsworth you love so much."

Proctor walked over to where Blair was standing near the window and he kissed him on the cheek. "I need time to think," he said, and then he walked back to the desk and picked up his satchel.

"Where are you going?" Blair asked.

"I'm not sure," Proctor said. "I might just go for a long drive. I need to think. I need to process everything that's happened."

"I'll come with you," Blair said. "I insist."

"Thank you," Proctor said, as he headed to the door. "But I'd rather be alone right now. I can't explain how I feel. I just know that I need to deal with this alone for a while. You should be here in case any new clients wander in. We need money."

Then he left the office without waiting for Blair to reply. He didn't stop and say anything to Alvin on his way out either. He continued to elevator, down to the main lobby, and out to the parking garage where he'd left his car.

When he pulled out of the garage he turned right and drove to a shopping center on the edge of Beverly Hills where he knew they had a store that sold all kinds of technical things. It was one of those small, privately owned places where the owner helped each customer figure what he or she needed to do with technology. He'd found the store a while back when he'd needed help learning to use his smart phone. Of course Blair helped him out with technology now and he hadn't been back to the store in a while. It's just that this time he needed to find out a few things on his own without Blair taking control of the situation. This was too personal to share with anyone, and he knew if he didn't learn more about E. Q. Montana's books it would not stop haunting him.

 

Trevor Donovan, Thomas Caplan, The Man Who Wasn't; Gay Men and Straight Women; Jane Litte On Subscription Services;More On Rosie O'Donnell

Trevor Donovan, Thomas Caplan, The Man Who Wasn't

Here's a very recent article about actor, Trevor Donovan, and the novel, The Man Who Wasn't, by Thomas Caplan. According to the piece below, the book is going to film and there's a strong possibility that Donovan will get the lead role.

The books follow movie star Ty Hunter, an A-list idol whose past as a covert operative leads to his recruitment by the President of the United States to stop the trafficking of illicit nuclear weapons, re-igniting a clandestine career where Hunter’s fame becomes his cover. The first book, The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen, was released in 2012 with a forward by former President Clinton. The proposed series would be based on The Man Who Wasn’t, the upcoming second book.

I believe this would be the first book in the series, with more to follow. Even though I never actually saw any of the Beverly Hills 90210 episodes, I think most of my blog readers will remember Donovan for his role as "Teddy Montgomery," the gay character. He's straight in real life. (I know people don't like labels, but I also know that's not how the world works and I live in the real world.) I'm not too familiar with Caplan's work, however I did come across this interview blog post that's interesting.

I found this particularly true. It's a book I've read, and continue to read, just for the way the very first page was written. There's nothing as clean, simple, or concise as this.

Are you also an F. Scott Fitzgerald fan?

Oh, yes indeed. I have been since I read This Side of Paradise at the age of nineteen. The Great Gatsby is my favorite American novel, but then that’s true of many writers. Only people who have tried over and over again to do it know how hard it is to create prose that seems so utterly without effort.

You can read more about the film, find more links to Donovan and Caplan, and see comments, here. 

Gay Men and Straight Women

I really didn't know how to title this part of the post, and I really, really wanted to link to this article today because it's something that I don't see very often. I can't say I agree with everything, however, I can, indeed, understand everything he says. I'll post a few excerpts and comment after each. Then I'll post the link below. Keep in mind the article was written with a sarcastic tone. If I have to explain that then you might as well just skip this completely.

I'm a gay man and I love when women say to me, "Let's go shopping!"

Frankly, I never get this from women and I don't think Tony does either. That could be partly because I despise shopping for anything, and partly because the women might suspect I would laugh in their faces if they asked me a question like that. It's just never happened to me.

I love how straight women determine when gay men are attractive and when they are not. No self-respecting woman wants an ugly gay.

I've actually posted about "dad bods" and I've had straight women tell me they can't wait until this "trend" is over, without even realizing how awful that sounds. Evidently, they aren't as fond of "dad bods" as gay men are, and they'd rather see those photo shopped images of perfect men with bulging muscles and those "washing board abs." Yeah, that part was sarcasm, too. I know what "washboard abs" are.

I like that gay men can be "fags" and "queers" instead of just people. I like that gay men are taken at the value of being a token in a group of friends, or as the person you go to when your man won't watch a musical with you. I like knowing that if a gay man makes it into show business he has to hide who he really is because of fear of being boxed in and unable to take on roles that are seen as "straight."

I think we all know how I feel about words like "fag" and "queer." I think the part about being in show business and being gay speaks for itself without comment from me. That's just a fact of life for some people. It's not just show business. It's in corporate, and everywhere. Here's a shock: it's even in book publishing.

You can read the entire piece, here. As I said, I don't totally agree with all of it and I think that's because I've always taken a more aggressive approach to things like this. A lot of gay men, especially younger gay men, haven't reached that point...yet.
 

Jane Litte On Subscription Services

I could have left this comment on the blog post I'm linking to now, however, I have my own blog and my own readership. Why bother when I can share it here? I also think it's news, especially the part about Amazon's new payment system.

The gist of the piece is about whether or not subscription services can afford romance readers. Litte questions this partly because romance readers are such voracious readers. I know, first hand, that gay romance readers will often read five or six e-books a week. From what I gather, they are full length novels, not shorts. I don't think I'm exaggerating either. One of the reasons why I do freebies all the time is to give readers a break, because I know they appreciate it. They tell me all the time. I get DMs on Twitter after I release a new installment of The Rainbow Detective Agency asking when the next book is coming out. This is a good thing; no complaints from me. 

However, the most interesting part of the piece is about Amazon.

Amazon was able to adapt by paying authors less (and I suspect that KU payments will continue to decline overtime) but Scribd’s response was to cut the part of the membership body that was bleeding them money.

This sentence about Amazon paying authors less sparked an interesting conversation on the comment thread. You have to read through them to see what I mean, but several in the comments didn't agree with Litte. I personally think it's a little too soon to disagree with Litte on this one, and I don't always agree with her.  I can't go into detail about what I've heard...because, obviously, that would be hearsay.

However, I'm not hearing good things from other authors. And they don't care what Joe Konrath has to say on the matter.

In any event, you can read it all in detail, here.  

More On Rosie O'Donnell

There's more info on the missing, and found, daughter of Rosie O'Donnell.

Rosie O'Donnell is now tweeting about Steven Sheerer, a man from Barnegat, New Jersey, who ET can confirm is the man her previously missing 17-year-old daughter Chelsea O'Donnell was found with on Tuesday evening.

Rosie linked to a 2012 article about Sheerer getting charged with third-degree possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, third-degree possession of heroin, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

I posted about this yesterday. If you scroll down to the previous post you'll see.  What I still don't understand is the time frame. The kid goes missing on Tuesday, a week ago. The police don't start looking for her until Sunday, six days after she's missing. And a week later the missing kid turns up in NJ. As I said yesterday, if my kid were missing on Tuesday the police would have been looking for her on Tuesday night and I would have been tweeting that as far and wide as I could the instant it happened. I would have been maniacal.

The rest is here. It's just not making sense, or maybe I'm just working too much on The Rainbow Detective Agency.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers 

 

 

Perez Hilton Stars In a Musical; Rosie O'Donnell's Daughter Found; The Attraction to Twinks

Perez Hilton Stars In a Musical

I follow Hilton on Twitter and I've seen how he's been trying to change his public image, which isn't an easy thing to do. So I don't have much to say about this. Besides, I'm not the best authority on musical comedy because it isn't my first love of entertainment. I think I would rather eat kale and beets for a whole month than stand at a piano bar and sing show tunes. Like Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, it's just not my thing.

In any event, Perez Hilton will be starring in a musical version of the old time TV show, Full House. I think it's a parody but don't quote me on that.

In the three years since his Off-Broadway debut in “NEWSical,” the celebrity blogger has become a father to 2-year-old Mario Armando Lavandeira III and Mia Alma Hilton, born in May 2015. So Hilton, 37, has plenty of real-life experience to draw from as he steps into the role of Danny Tanner in “Full House! The Musical,” a spoof on the iconic 1990s sitcom that starred Bob Saget and John Stamos. Written and directed by Bob and Tobly McSmith, the show performances in Toronto on Aug. 18 and Sept. 10 in New York.

Hilton, who is studying with two vocal coaches in order to tackle the musical, has learned a thing or two about the parental highs and lows that the series depicted firsthand. Admitting to “overthinking everything” and holding himself “to a really high standard,” Hilton says the struggle to balance his career pursuits with duties as a single father is real.

As I said, Hilton has been tweeting great photos of his kids (who are adorable) and I'm hoping this works out for him. From a blogger's POV I think he's broken ground for gay bloggers like few others have done, in a world of straight, white privilege, and whether you like him or not, there's that.


You can read more here.

Rosie O'Donnell's Daughter Found 


This is confusing because of the time frame. Rosie O'Donnell's daughter, Chelsea, was missing since last Tuesday, the police started looking for her on Sunday, and she was found, literally, a few hours ago today...a week later. 

Rosie O’Donnell’s 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, has been found hours after the comedian made a plea to the public for help in locating her.

Police had been searching for Chelsea O’Donnell since Sunday and she had last been seen Aug. 11, according to a statement posted Tuesday on the comedian’s Web site.

The article states O'Donnell's daughter has a mental illness and is on medication, but doesn't go into detail, which is fine for the sake of her privacy. But what I find unusual is that the police didn't start searching for the kid until Sunday. Is that some kind of police protocol? I can't even imagine how hysterical O'Donnell must have been during that time.  

You can read the rest here.  People have already begun sending well wishes on Twitter with the hashtag, #missingchildren.

The Attraction to Twinks

For those who don't know, twinks are young men between late teen years and about 25 years old. At least that's how it's defined in most places. You can check. It varies a little, but that's the general idea. And if you are under the impression that a twink can be over thirty, good for you. I'm not going to crush your dream. Enjoy it. I hear that if you're in your 40s and you go to Palms Springs you can still be a twink in some places.

I honestly don't think enough about it because I've never been all that attracted to twinks, not even when I was a twink. I've always been more attracted to men between the ages of 35 and 55 and that's not going to change any time soon.

But I digress, this is about "older" men being attracted to twinks. Like men in their 30s, which is absolutely ridiculous.

Society doesn’t so much as bat an eye when a man — say in his 30s — shows interest in a woman in her early to mid 20s. It’s almost expected that he’ll find a younger woman sexy.

But is there a double standard in the gay community?

The Right has consistently tried to label gay men as deviants, predators, or even pedophiles. Is it possible that some have become overly sensitive in an effort to dispel those horrible accusations?

Here we go. They're blaming it on the "right." Well, in case they haven't noticed gay men can be more critical of other gay men about these things than anyone else. I know THAT from personal experience, from back when I was twenty and I dated a fifty year old. But I don't want to digress again. 

You can read more here. To be honest, I think it's a lot of bullshit...at least the way they handle the subject this time. People judge straight men for going with younger women, too, all the time. They whisper, gossip, and even joke around about it. And there's never been a bigger double standard than when an older woman goes with a much younger man. If anything, this is one of those times when women really do get to claim a double standard as their own, without question.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers 

 

 

Anti-Gay Clerk In Kentucky Gets Time; Jeff Bezos and The New York Times; David Denson Comes Out

Anti-Gay Clerk In Kentucky Gets Time

I don't want this part of today's post to sound bitter, angry, or vindictive so I'm trying hard to keep the content succinct.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis last week to issue licenses to two gay couples, and ruled Monday that she is not entitled to any more delays. But because "emotions are running high on both sides of this debate," he also stayed his decision while she takes her case to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal.

Attorneys on both sides disagreed about the implications. Dan Canon, representing the gay couples, said Davis remains under the judge's order. But Mat Staver, who represents Davis and is the founder of Florida-based Liberty Counsel, said the convoluted order essentially grants her request for more time.

What is clear is that Davis will continue refusing to issue marriage licenses to anyone in this county of about 23,000 people, home to Morehead State University in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Kentucky. Until the case is resolved, no new wedding can be legally recognized in Rowan County unless the couple obtains a marriage license somewhere else.

"This is not something I decided because of this decision that came down," Davis testified in federal court last month. "It was thought-out and, you know, I sought God on it."

You can read the rest here. There's at least half as much more. 

It's so sad and she's so backward it's hard to comment.

Jeff Bezos and the New York Times

The New York Times wrote a scathing piece about Amazon working conditions and there's been a great deal of discussion about it online all day. In full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of the New York Times, not since the 2007 Presidential election, and it's been my personal opinion since then they aren't the most reliable source for good objective news content nowadays.

In any event, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, replied:

“[The article] claims that our intentional approach is to create a soulless, dystopian workplace where no fun is had and no laughter heard,” Bezos wrote. “Again, I don’t recognize this Amazon and I very much hope you don’t, either. More broadly, I don’t think any company adopting the approach portrayed could survive, much less thrive, in today’s highly competitive tech hiring market.”

I don't know much about Amazon working conditions, but I do know there are a lot of people out there who don't like Amazon because they've been so on target in so many respects, with so many innovations, including publishing, they've become targets themselves. 

You can read more here. There's also an e-mail Bezos wrote to Amazon employees, post the NYT piece, asking them to contact him if they have any proof the "anecdotes" in the NYT article exist. It should be interesting to see if anyone responds in public to defend Amazon.

Side note: Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post. 

David Denson Comes Out

David Denson is a minor league baseball player with the Milwaukee Brewers', and he recently came out of the closet in public. This is the second one I've seen so far today. 

Before he knew it, Denson was making the emotional announcement he yearned to share, and the group around him expanded to the point that he soon was speaking to most of the team. Much to Denson's relief, when the conversation ended he was greeted with outward support and understanding instead of condemnation.

"Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them," recalled Denson. "They said, 'You're still our teammate. You're still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You're still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don't treat you any different. We've got your back.'

There's more here. It's a very positive piece.

I will say, though, that when I post about these things online on social media I often get one typical response: "I can't wait until there are no labels and this doesn't mean anything." I know most people mean well with that comment. However, that response really bothers me because we live in a world of labels. When I owned an art gallery in New Hope for ten years I was "the art gallery guy." The woman who owned the candy shop was "the candy store lady." No one was ever worried about those labels, so why should we be worried about labels regarding our sexuality? That's what bothers me when someone says they don't like labels. I don't mind being "labeled" as a gay man. In fact, I'm proud of that. So please think twice next time you say you don't like labels. You might not be getting the whole point of the discussion, you might be hiding something, or you might be dealing a few of your own inner demons.

There should be no shame at all attached to being gay. 

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers 

 

 

Too Many "Twinks" In Stonewall? "Queerest" Summer In Amsterdam; James Dean Before His Fame:LIFE

Too Many Twinks In Stonewall?

As if the whitewashing controversy surrounding the film, Stonewall, isn't enough, now there's a former child celebrity who thinks Roland Emmerich put too many twinks in the film. The most interesting thing about all this controversy is that so far, from what I've read, no one has actually seen the film in its entirety. 

Mara Wilson, of ’90s children’s required viewing Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda fame, fired off a series of tweets accusing Emmerich of personally twinkifying Stonewall because of his own proclivity towards young, white, fit gay men.

I wouldn't even have known who she is if they hadn't mentioned the above films she was in back in the 90's.

You can read more here, with many excellent comments. Here's one:

Reading Mara’s tweets I can’t help but notice a pronounced bigoted homophobia on her part that is disturbing. It seems her self absorbed heterosexual privilege is rearing it’s ugly head here and it’s not pretty. When we want a white straight girls opinion about how we are portrayed on film we’ll let you know Mara. Until then, zip it.

In all fairness to Wilson, she does mention that she didn't feel right commenting because she's coming from a place of privilege. Evidently, many in the comment thread didn't bother to read that part.

"Queerest" Summer In Amsterdam

I usually hate anything with the word "queer" in it, however, I know I'm in the minority with this one and I've conceded more times than I can count. So this link is more about fun than social or political commentary. I don't want to be one of those tight-ass writers without a sense of humor. And I LOVE the milkshake festival and post about it every year. It's another one of those things my my proverbial bucket list.

It was raining when I got to the entrance of the Milkshake Festival in Amsterdam. I’d only arrived to the city a few hours earlier, on an early morning flight. As I was checking into my hotel the weather seemed perfectly fine, which is why when I left the hotel just before noon, I walked out in short shorts and a tank top. Only to find the sunny weather I was anticipating had turned to a sudden downpour. But as I walked up to the festival entrance (thankfully: under a poncho handed to me by a drag queen on the sidewalk outside Westerpark), I didn’t care.

You can check out more here, with photos of some interesting people wearing unusual outfits, several of whom it's worth noting that don't eat much salad.

James Dean Before His Fame: LIFE

There's a new film about James Dean titled, Life. It's about the relationship Dean had with a photographer, Dennis Stock. This is one I don't know much about, but it's interesting how back in those days no one thought anything of shooting a photo of someone famous with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

In fact, it's sexy...or at least was considered sexy (or cool) back then. These days something like that seems to be so taboo just the slight mention of smoking puts anyone famous on the defensive. Can you imagine someone like George Clooney, who has worked so hard and long to brand himself so carefully, being photographed with a cigarette? Or for that matter, the President of the United States? I can't. I wouldn't be photographed with a cigarette myself and I don't even have anything against people who smoke. I think it's a personal choice and a personal decision. Not my business to interfere. Most of the world doesn't agree with me and they'll tell you their opinions without hesitating.

In any event...

The latest is Anton Corbijn, the gifted filmmaker who made the gorgeous Ian Curtis bio Control in 2007, who has directed Life, which depicts Dean’s relationship with photographer Dennis Stock. Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson stars as Stock who followed the not-yet-famous Dean around New York City and to his hometown Fairmount, Indiana and captured him in a series of evocative, iconic photos that are still framed and hanging on bedroom walls across the globe. The film hits theaters September 25, less than a week before the 60th anniversary of Dean’s tragic demise behind the wheel of his Porsche.

You can read more here. I'll be seeing this one.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers 

Neil Partick Harris on Oscars; First Brick Thrown At Stonewall; The Scottish Duke by Ryan Field

Neil Patrick Harris on Oscars

Last year Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Oscars and I thought it was better than most years. He was recently asked if he'd do it again and here's what he said.

“It’s a rare ask,’ he says.

‘It’s a lot of effort that goes into something that, at the end of the day, becomes inconsequential,’ he adds. ‘If you think about it you’d be hard pressed to remember the nominees. It just goes away and there’s a new thing. That’s the interesting dynamic. You spend an asinine amount of time overthinking it and as soon as it’s done it just sort of vanishes. I’d do it again if I was asked. I had a really fun time.’

I never paid attention to the critics, and I loved what Harris did. And, frankly, the Oscar Award Show is a tough gig for anyone to handle and it takes a very special person, like Harris, to make something so self-indulgent, and so God awful boring, entertaining. Harris did that, and more. 

I hope he does it again.

You can read the rest here. 

First Brick Thrown At Stonewall

Here's another one of those memes by Sam Kalidi, whom I've posted about before. He's usually funny. I follow him on Twitter. However, this time he put together something a little more intense than usual.

Each week online comedian, voice actor and chest hair model Sam Kalidi creates a new meme for Queerty readers. This week he gets serious about the Stonewall movie controversy and looks at the person many people believe was the true hero of the pivotal moment in the struggle for queer rights. Sam looks forward to all your hate mail. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at your local glory hole.

Here's the link to the meme.

With the huge debate that's been going on online all week about the upcoming film, Stonewall, and how it may or may not have been whitewashed by Hollywood as a dramatization, there are still a lot of opinions on the topic and you can read them in the comment section.

Some activists are even calling for a boycott. I can't comment on any of this because I'm not Stonewall expert and I haven't seen the film. I'm also coming from a place of white privilege this time, and I don't think it's even fair for me to comment. But the big problem as I see it is that Hollywood, as usual, rearranges history to suit its own best interest. In their quest to be left wing liberal they usually fail by pulling stunts like using "yellowface" in films like Cloud Atlas, and the films almost always tank.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Book 6

The Scottish Duke

Amazon Link for Kindle Readers