Planet Homo

Prop 8: The Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Neal's Not-so-secret sex life

From Jossip, this curious story of sexual intrigue:

Neal Boulton is the editor of Genre, the gay men's magazine, and something called BastardLife.com, a bisexual men's web magazine. Clearly the man has a thing for mixing media and gender identity, as the various "anonymously sourced" items about Boulton's NYC sexing — which reek of having been planted by Boulton himself — also suggest, as does his former editorship of Men's Fitess, which is basically a magazine for straight guys to ogle other guys. Not terribly surprising, then, that his on-and-off (and back on) partner for the last 16 years, Claire, used their sometimes open relationship to sometimes enjoy the company of other women while her husband was off dabbling with homos. And now, like The Pregnant Man, they're on a road to sharing their story with the world. Read on, America, for the next great chapter of the GLBT movement.

First, or wishful thinking-ly last, stop: Page Six Magazine, where they recount meeting at an anti-abortion rally (he had a boyfriend at the time) and then spending the next 16 years, and two children later, figuring out how to identify themselves. ("For a while, Claire even had a girlfriend and Neal had a boyfriend. 'It rocked,' says Neal. 'Claire made me look like a wallflower. She's had hotter girlfriends than I've ever had.' Hooking up with members of the opposite sex was off the table.")

Meanwhile, Boulton, who aims for a career in porn, was chocking up career achievements: Running Men's Fitness for David Pecker's American Media, relaunching The National Enqurier, then getting fired from his post for putting out a magazine that was "too gay." Then there was the meeting with Jann Wenner, where they smooched and started a snowballing rumor about the twosome dating. (Wenner, of course, has his own history of relationship trouble with boyfriend Matt Nye.)

And then, supposedly, Genre publisher Bill Kapfer came knocking on his door begging him to relaunch the magazine, which is a funny story because Boulton himself has told us he was the one to approach Kapfer, get then-editor Chris Ciompi fired, and takeover the magazine with a grand plan. ("Grand," so far, means a circ jump of 20k.)

So where does Boulton stand now? In a "forever" monogamous relationship with wife Claire. And since that's the message being put forth by Boulton himself, we should expect a dry spell of Boulton sightings at Chelsea gay bars.

Today is...

FACTS:

• People living with HIV/AIDS in 2007: 33.0 million

• More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

• Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.

• At the end of 2007, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide.

• In developing and transitional countries, 9.7 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 2.99 million (31%) are receiving the drugs.

You can get involved and help out in the fight many different ways, including the following:

• World Vision
• The Global Fight
• Project Red
• Help Fight AIDS
• ONE

Anderson Cooper Races Michael Phelps, kinda.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Harvey Milk

Reflections on the Piano and the Human Voice

The American Music Awards gave Annie Lennox  a special merit award. Justin Timberlake introduced her, and she quietly sat down at a grand piano and in the key of C she began to sing: "How many times do I have to try to tell you that I'm sorry for the things I've done..." It was simple, a woman and a piano, singing about a broken relationship, and it was devastating.
There has always been something about this combination that reaches deep into the psyche and the heart. Long ago, singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, at a very early age, did the same thing—she revealed herself through song, that mysterious four minute journey into lyrics, major and minor chords, that so often produce emotion. Joni Mitchell turned to the piano in 1974's Court and Spark, leaving behind the folk-infused and often strangely tuned guitar in favor of the chordal orchestrations that the piano so eloquently delivers. Annie Lennox sat down at the piano and made the world have a breakdown. Maybe it’s the intensity of the lyrics, maybe it’s the simplicity of the music (it’s a three chord song), we never really know what makes us feel. It just does.

Kiss Off

How I wish actor would talk about kissing an actress in this manner.

At Long Last: Milk Reviewed

It's been nearly a month since I saw the movie in a small private screening theatre on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Screening rooms are not the best place to watch a film—its usually a larger than TV size screen with a muffled, deadened sound. It's a small audience, maybe about twenty five people in all. For whatever reason, there was what's called an "embargo" against writing reviews for the film until this week. What occurred was everyone, especially the Hollywood Reporter, writing so-called non-reviews, or just ignoring the embargo as some kind of marketing ploy, which it was. There has been a lot of discussion as to why the film was released after the elections, especially in light of the defeat of Proposition 8 in California. At the screening, a well-known writer of gay cinema told me that the film was being released in late November for Academy Award consideration. There is much irony to this: Milk is a movie that actually motivates one to want to get involved in politics. This is, at this point, marketing under the bridge.
The film begins with some rare, revealing and painful scenes of gay bars being raided in the 50s. It is a poignant reminder that it wasn't that long ago, that just going to a gay bar was dangerous. Gay life was fraught with danger from being fired or blackmailed and basic civil rights were denied. We meet a 40 something Harvey Milk, who as played by Sean Penn is nothing less than a revelation. Charming, witty,  and persuasive, we believe that this man could bed the much younger Scott Smith, played beautifully by James Franco. A relationship develops and we see Harvey Milk evolve from a deadened insurance agent to a shop owner in the increasingly gay Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. We witness many, many marches through the streets of San Francisco and the rise of a politician who is as cunning as he is clever. There is a lot of realism in Milk, from the kissing exchange between Penn and Franco to the use of many of Harvey Milk's old friends in the film. The question really is, in film, do you make it more interesting than life? The character of Jack Lira played by Diego Luna is so annoying that by the time he makes his exit, there is actually some relief. And in some ways, this is the missing emotion in Milk: you can be devastated by the murder, the sorrow of what might have been, but director Van Sant has chosen to see this through history not someones eyes.
Is it a great film? Probably not, because great films have enormous emotional impact. The greatness lies in Sean Penn's performance, which is inspired. Nearly everyone shines even if their character doesn't (Advocate owner David Goldstein takes a beating). Josh Brolin is haunting as Dan White, a man who finds he cannot compete with the charm and political abilities of Harvey Milk.
What this film does exceedingly well is tell a story about a man who had courage. A hero, not just in gay history but in the context of San Francisco itself. It is clear that in an age such as ours, Harvey Milk's are needed to define, explain and compel people into action. That is greatness in itself.

God Love 'em

Ancient, paranoid, God-fearin’ Pat Boone delivers his sermon on current events. It’s best to just let him go on:

Marriage itself, the sacred institution around which all society is built, is being attacked and shaken. Yes, attacked with intent to contaminate it in a way that will eventually cause the collapse of American social order.
And this same young man has taken a stand against any constitutional defense of marriage, proclaiming that though he doesn't personally approve of same-sex "marriage," he will do nothing to prevent it. This must have encouraged the already wildly inflamed opponents of California's Prop 8 who attack churches, synagogues and business people who dared support marriage as between one man and one woman. These radicals publicly announce their well-organized plans to overrule the expressed will of the voters in California. Believing the newly elected president gives them his tacit approval, as does Gov. Schwarzenegger, the homosexual activists are mounting frontal attacks on all who disagree with them, determined that neither the democratic process nor law itself will deprive them of their wishes. With the salivating support of the ACLU, the same four California judges who thumbed their noses at the voters previously will have the opportunity to do it again. And their apparent intent is to keep thwarting the will of the majority until supporters of traditional marriage just give up.

As the nation is wrenched by the tectonic economic crisis, a young man has been elected on promises he'll fix it all, though he has no experience whatever in such matters. And while we are still at war on two fronts, this new commander in chief, who never wore a uniform or carried a gun, promises to settle all that military stuff, bring our troops home and keep us secure against implacable enemies through diplomacy. These enemies are the same ones who destroyed the World Trade Center in one morning, killing 3,000 Americans. But his middle name is Hussein, so he proposes to "reason" with them.

You may well wonder why, in this Thanksgiving season, I'm thanking God for all this shaking. Well, let's look again at what brought the Twin Towers down. The first time the Islamic jihadists tried to destroy the WTC, they did it the smartest way – they attacked the foundations, down in the subterranean garages, planting huge bombs that would surely have toppled the massive buildings. But they were foiled at the last minute, and had to try again. So on Sept. 11 in 2001, 23 trained and disciplined terrorists attacked the Towers at a much higher and totally unexpected level. They commandeered some jetliners, filled with unsuspecting passengers, and plunged them into the upper floors of the Towers, accomplishing the unthinkable. Two giant buildings, with thousands of people in them, crumpled to the ground in cataclysmic annihilation.

Be thankful for any of that? No, of course not. But yes, I give thanks for the brief period of galvanizing unity and the outpouring of goodwill that drew our people together. Out of that national quake came a refreshing promise of the kind of spirit that created America in the first place. It dissipated, but while it lasted, it was real.

And now a much greater shaking is affecting our national life. In a terrible pincer movement, an assault is taking place on two fronts simultaneously – one all-out attack on the foundations, the very pillars of our society, and the other on the executive suites in the ivory towers of business and finance. The jihadists in these organized, hugely funded attacks on our morality and virtue are not Middle Eastern – they're homegrown Americans who actually believe they're promoting a better America by destroying the foundations on which this nation was built!

Recall that George Washington declared, "Religion and morality are the twin pillars of liberty" … two foundational supports.

Well, on one front, our jihadists would grant homosexual activity "marriage rights," which outweigh the will of the majority and defy the societal structuring of all human history. And they believe that destroying babies in the womb is a woman's "right" – oblivious to the divinely and constitutionally ordained rights of the unborn American citizen. What if one of those had been Obama?

First hand journalism

From UPI, this wonderful story that should teach all editors a lesson:

A Swedish magazine geared toward gay men said members of its editorial staff underwent cosmetic surgery for an article about the practice.

The editors of Dorian Magazine, which bills itself as a commercial lifestyle magazine for gay men, said they underwent procedures including nose jobs, lip augmentations, liposuction, facelifts and muscle enhancement surgery for the article, which appears in the current edition of the magazine, The Local reported Friday.

“Dorian Magazine represents an artistic fantasy world with an idealized beauty. Having the editorial team undergo plastic surgery in order to get insight into the ideal we promote was almost a question of credibility,” said creative and fashion director Jake Rydqvist, who had some excess skin removed from above his eyes for the cosmetic surgery feature.

Editor-in-chief Benjamin Falk, who had liposuction performed on his chin, said that while cosmetic surgery can be beneficial, it will not automatically cure self-esteem problems.

“I absolutely recommend it to people who want to freshen up their looks a little, but people shouldn’t believe that plastic surgery will change one’s life if they are not already happy and feel good about themselves,” he said.

So that's how it is.....

Strange...

Advocate Interview Goes South

Brandon Voss, fresh from his years at HX magazine interviewed Adrien Brody for the December issue of The Advocate. Brody, as his face would suggest is a serious man. Here is an example of what happens when the interviewer runs out of pertinent questions:

Do guys still hit on you?
I guess I'd be disappointed if they didn't.
What if a man had presented you with your Oscar instead of Halle Berry? Were you so wrapped up in the moment that you might've have kissed him too?
That's a pretty silly question. No, obviously not. Part of the excitement was that it was a beautiful woman presenting me with such a beautiful moment in my life.
Is there any actor for whom you would've made an exception?
No.
Let's try another approach: For your next gay role, who'd you choose for your on-screen love interest?
You want me to name an actor? No, I can't answer that question, Brandon. See, you ask me how I deal with rumors, and I also have to deal with not adding fuel to them. Something that would be a completely innocuous comment on my part will be completely taken out of context by the next journalist, so I'd appreciate it if you were understanding about that.
Have I put you in a bad mood?
I'm still in a good mood, but I'm also a relatively serious person, so these questions are difficult for me.
So I guess I shouldn't ask if it's true what they say about a man with a prominent nose?
Why would you do that to somebody? You and I don't know each other, right? We're complete strangers, actually. I'm being respectful to you, so you have to extend the same courtesy.
Oh, Adrien, it's all in good fun. I'm trying to show your sense of humor here.
I didn't sign up for that.