Planet Homo

Advertising's a Pitch

AMC's new original series The Pitch offers viewers an intense, gripping, never-before-seen glimpse inside America’s top ad agencies. Each week two agencies compete to win a new client the only way they can: by going head-to-head in a cutthroat, winner-takes-all showdown, a presentation known as The Pitch. With only seven days to prepare, the pressure to perform is intense. The whining, the brainstorming, the blue-sky thinking: it’s all here as the teams work around the clock and pray for the moment of inspiration that will win them the job and keep their companies alive. The drama is real, the stakes are high, and the clock is ticking. From the producers of Project Runway, Undercover Boss. And that's just the press release.

 

"It's only fair to say that in the two episodes that have aired,

agencies have gotten it wrong, twice."

 

Last night's episode featured two agencies, SK+G and The Ad Store pitching to WM (Waste Management) as they try to recreate the image for the company that is not just about trash. SK+G is a Las Vegas agency known for their Vegas clients (nearly every major hotel, how does that work?) and looking to break out into things less hospitality and more, in this case, waste. The AD Store is an agency founded by Peter Cappelli, whose client have included JetBlue, GoDaddy, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Zappos. Advertising is curious profession: creating unique persuasions for people to buy things.

 

What the Pitch has going for it, is the essential ingredient: drama. The SK+G agency fulfilled that, as it appears to be an agency with TWO creative heads, which just can't help but butting them.

 

As we are introduced to Peter Cappelli, he seems affable, slightly worn with a rich nicotine-based baritone. As we watch Peter work in his office, one can't help but notice the rather attractive guy at the computer, Steven. As the Ad Store creates its pitch we are witness to the working relationships of the people involved, and then, without a beat, Peter tell us that Steven is his boyfriend of fifteen years. We are immediately taken into their home, where cocktails and a very warm relationship are revealed.

 

The Ad Store does not get the account. Clients seem to be dazzled by anything that hints at social media, so it could only be that SK+G got the account because they introduced Waste Management to the concept of a QR reader (Quick Response Code: one of those black pattern codes that takes one to a website in a jiffy). In the pilot episode, an obscure rapper was plucked from anonymity, given his 25 seconds of fame and sent home. They also won. It's only fair to say that in the two episodes that have aired, agencies have gotten it wrong, twice.

But, it was nice to meet Peter and  Steven, a lovely couple, a talented couple, winners.

 

Coalition for Equal Rights Short and "straight" to the point message

Many gay men think that gay marriage is, ah, a sideshow, claiming that we should call it "the bond", the "union", the "partnership" instead of marriage. That pregnant little word "marriage" carries a lot of weight, emotionally and politically. Leave it the the Brits to remind us that while we can fight for our country—we can die for our country, we cannot marry. Directed by Mike Buonaiuto, award winning director of short films and commercials, he has created a poignant reminder for the Coalition for Equal Marriage in England, that though we serve, we do not share some basic rights. The short film stars James Knight, from London’s West End and rising screen-star Lew Smart. For more information on the cause and the film, click here

The Last OUT?

The final issue of Out magazine as something that is produced by an editorial team for Here Media is OUT. Of late, the magazine has never looked better. But that was not enough to survive in an environment of quick fixes and immediate gratifications, the magazine is reportedly not dead, but in transition. Aaron Hicklin, the editor-in-chief of Out magazine reports that the magazine will be produced by his new venture, Grand Editorial, and "contract" the magazine on a monthly basis for Here Media. This means the current staff is now freelance. Hicklin issued this press release: “I’m thrilled that Here Media, Out’s parent company, sees the value in this exciting new initiative,” says Hicklin, adding: “I’m profoundly committed to Out’s ongoing evolution, and beyond happy to be able to continue doing what I love best while also having the opportunity to explore new ways of thinking about the relationship between editorial and publishing.”

Out was founded by Michael Goff in 1992 as editor in chief and president. He and executive editor Sarah Pettit (since deceased) together built it into the largest circulation gay publication, featuring prominent writers (such as Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris). By avoiding sexually explicit material and personal classifieds, the publication was able to attract more mainstream advertisers than previous publications aimed at gay readers. Goff presented the idea to The Advocate editor Richard Rouillard in 1992 and was turned down as the The Advocate was then dealing with creating another publication for its less-than-savory advertising. Out became wildly successful and enjoyed the highest circulation of any monthly gay publication.

Hicklin contends that the publication will return: "With any startup, there are always risks," Hicklin said. "But for lots of publications, midsize publications especially, I think it makes sense to be a little more innovative in thinking about how they find ways to continue creating high quality content while being mindful of the huge transition the media is going through."

Time will tell.

 

Glee's Chris Golfer Makes a Movie!

Colfer stars in the coming-of-age comedy Struck by Lightning that has been set up with David Permut (Youth in Revolt). The plot revolves around Colfer's character, who is struck and killed by a bolt of lightning, and chronicles his exploits as he blackmails his fellow senior classmates into contributing to a literary magazine he is publishing. Colfer also wrote the script for Struck By Lightning, which was shot during the Glee hiatus in the summer of 2011. The film is written and directed by Golfer.

Why Does Hollywood Hate Gay Sex?

Writer Ramin Setoodeh takes on the ultimate Hollywood taboo, gay sex, at the least kind between men in an interesting essay that speculates on the various reasons that actually seeing gay sex is not more forthcoming:

By now, you’ve probably heard about Shame, this generation’s Last Tango in Paris. Michael Fassbender plays a single (and often naked) Manhattan bachelor named Brandon obsessed with sex, and the movie offers a voyeuristic look into his anonymous encounters with various women. One afternoon he even has sex with a pretty blonde prostitute against the window of the Standard Hotel, for all of downtown New York to see.

On another drunken night, Brandon wanders into a gay club. He’s so desperate for sex, he’ll sleep with anybody—even a man. The scene is meant to illustrate how depraved his character has become, but the moment is a turning point for another reason. For the first time in the film, Shame is ashamed to show you what Brandon experiences. In a dark underground corridor, a guy unzips Brandon’s pants … and the camera cuts away. The screen fades to black.

Gay sex is the last Hollywood taboo. When Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet as the first openly gay sitcom star in 1997—and her fictional self followed suit—a parade of gay characters came after her. There was Will & Grace, and Carrie Bradshaw’s Sex and the City sidekick, Stanford. In movies, the gay best friend became a staple, from My Best Friend’s Wedding to Mean Girls.

Yet none of these characters do what gay men do. As Hollywood portrays it, the homosexual man is, astonishingly, sexless.

If you can’t name any great love scenes between two men in hit films or TV shows in 2011, it’s because there weren’t any. Last summer, Justin Timberlake experienced all the benefits in Friends With Benefits, while his gay pal (played by Woody Harrelson) was sidelined. On Glee, Kurt finally lost his virginity to his boyfriend—off camera, to the frustration of many of the show’s fans. When Christopher Plummer came out of the closet in Beginners, he signaled the occasion by wearing purple (his younger boyfriend hovered in the background). Leonardo DiCaprio’s J. Edgar had a hot male companion (Armie Hammer), but he exchanged only a single kiss with him.

read article here

Fake Taylor Lautner Cover

A supposedly leaked cover of People magazine's January 7, 2012 issue outing Taylor Lautner is actually nothing more than a halfway-convincing Photoshop job, according to Gossip Cop.

The cover, which features the "Twilight" hunk "out and proud," is "absolutely fake," a rep for the magazine told the gossip patrol site.

On the doctored cover, Lautner is quoted as saying that he's "more liberated, and happier than I've ever been" after finally "announcing" his homosexuality.

"Tired of rumors, the 'Twilight' star opens up about his decision to finally come out," the cover claims.

The image also features two sidebar photos - featuring Brad Pitt and Carnie Wilson - that are ripped directly from a May 2006 People cover.

Celebrities like Russell Simmons, however, were duped by the viral cover.

The hip-hop mogul tweeted that he was "proud of Taylor Lautner for his bravery and his courage," but upon realizing that the image was a hoax, he rescinded his initial statement, writing instead that he was "disappointed that people would joke about someone coming out about their sexuality. Let Taylor Lautner be whoever he wants to be..."

Lautner, 19, is no stranger to rumors about his sexuality. In November, he told Parade magazine that "it's tough" to avoid reading about himself: "It's definitely impossible to avoid stuff about me sometimes, but it's pretty important to try.

"It's very rare that things are true about yourself that are on the Internet," he said at the time. "It's just sad sometimes. So you definitely want to stay away from it as much as possible."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/taylor-lautner-people-magazine-cover-claiming-twilight-actor-gay-exposed-a-fake-article-1.997274#ixzz1hkk4oZuc

 
Made in 1950 by writer Jean Genet and photographed by Jean Cocteau.

America's global push for LGBT rights - GlobalPost - Salon.com

BERLIN, Germany — With the debt conflagration now blazing across Europe’s borders, the world is urging the euro zone’s leaders to staunch it by unleashing the powers of the European Central Bank.

Many European leaders are advocating this as well. The problem: Germany is resolutely opposed to this.

The U.S. took a groundbreaking step on global LGBT rights Tuesday, joining the UK in tying foreign aid to governments’ protection of sexual minorities, raising the stakes in the increasingly globalized battle over gay rights.

via www.salon.com

Womanist Musings: Talk about your same-sex partner over the turkey.

This is a guest post from Sparky, of Spark in Darkness.  Many of you are  familiar with him from Livejournal, as well as from his insightful and often hilarious commentary here. Each Tuesday, Womanist Musings will be featuring a post from Sparky.

So, GLAAD has a new campaign in favour of awkward thanksgiving. In not censoring oneself and speaking up about your life at the family dinner table.

Oh and didn’t that strike a chord with me!

via www.womanist-musings.com

Cam-alot

WANKS FOR THE MEMORY Exhibitionism and Voyeurism abound on the website, cam4.com as we get to peek into the world of what men and women do in private. Cam4 is a public website where anyone, if they want, can get naked and be seen, for free! There are men, women, she males, party people, couples, pros and every conceivable form of sexuality you can imagine, and that's just for starters. Every "member" is given a little introductory window, which is usually an image of whatever stage of nudity they are at. A little flag to the right presents what country they are from, so if you are fond of Italian men you can quickly look for the green white and red flag. Never has learning the flags of the world been easier! One's sexuality is also listed in the perfunctory, straight and gay and the neo-novel, "bicurious", which is means, anyone can take a look. Cammers can block potential stalkers with a quick click and there is a chat feature where one can type directly to the cammer and bark your particular demands ("Show us your hole!"). Many, many cammers are there to chat, as a stationary cam remains focused on a tank top, a hint of designer underwear or a formidable lower lip. Some leave their cam on as they sleep, wrestle with dark dreams or discreetly fondle themselves with what appears to be abandon. Some shower, inserts enemas, pull and tug at their foreskins or wildly exercise to the latest Lady Gaga tune in the background. It's all here. Needless to say, not everyone is on cam, the world is evenly divided between those who stroke and those who look.

And yet, not much happens.

 

Masturbation, as we have discovered, can take hours. Many cammers will slowly, slowly, slowly pull of their Australian designer underwear after many hours of scratching and tugging while a bevy of patient voyeurs persistently type for more (Show!"). The more viewers one has, the sooner you are put at the head of the list or the web page and it is not uncommon for as many as 2000 people to be focused on one particular cammer. And, if you are signed up with cam4.com you can "tip" your imaginary lover with some imaginary money, or something like that. The young, of course, are the worst, as they instinctively understand their place in this visual world of sexual fantasy. Many, who presumably would like to be strippers, practice their art with a full show, often signing off abruptly as dance before an attentive public only to leave without notice. Some, though surprisingly not many, actually do culminate in orgasm. Generally, "edging" seems to be the most ubiquitous activity, and if you have a few hours to spend watching things go up and down, this may be the site for you. For some, it may drive you into the arms of sites like xtube for the simple ability to fast forward and rewind.

What cam4.com does do, quite well, is remind us that men from all around the world are horny and to some extent, happy to show their prowess. And this may be the most interesting aspect of this site: it is international, so one is given access to an array of bodies and penises. Short, long, light, dark, cut, uncut, twisted, purple, brown, pink, polka dotted, fat, thin, soft or erected, they are all here. This may be the greatest sexual anthropological tool ever invented. Here are some of the more interesting findings: most men in the world are uncut (by many reports circumcised men are 10-15% of the population), the average male penis is actually fairly big. Latin men abound, Asian men will surprise you (cancel THAT myth); there are few black men. It is fairly divided 50/50 between straight men/gay men, and the "bicurious" tend to be under thirty. Most men do not shave or even trim their public hair. Cockrings are not universally popular. Some men have two holes in the head of their penieses. Some men are fond of inserting plastic devices into their bums. The general age is somewhere in the 30s and for the most part, men are fairly fit, though many a large man has been known to attract a lot of viewers, as have little people (dwarfs), cripples and people taken to wearing Halloweeen costumes early. It has even been reported that some have witnessed an enema spray.

This is not just martymachlia for a mere twenty years ago this kind of exhibitionism/voyeurism would have been nearly impossible. This is nothing less than a window, a glimpse into the rooms of people enjoying themselves, doing what they have always done, but now it can be seen by many.

Grindr to a Fault

  While we can celebrate the geosocial networking tool, Grindr for allowing us company on the lonely nights, we MUST celebrate the website, Douchebags of Grindr, for revealing what must of us have suspected for a long time: gay men can be pretty rude. If you're not familiar with Grindr, its a curious little app for the iphone, Blackberry and Android that uses your location as a starting point for interaction between gay men. It  is a kind of Craig'sList with chat and while allowed only one profile image, the exchange of images (one has to be certain!) can also occur. One is given a small space in which to spell out one's hopes, desires and an extremely short biography. And herein lies the problem and why we LOVE Douchebags of Grindr: people tend to reveal some of their racism, agism, and other physical demands in a way that, thankfully, Douchebags fully documents. And it is funny. Sad funny, but funny that people really don't mind making an ass of themselves publically, at least that is what Douchebags of Grindr allows us to witness.

Our hats are off to Douchebags for providing comic relief to the world of gay social networking where everything is serious businesss. Thanks to Sam Page for bringing to our attention.

Dr. Bachmann speaks about homosexuality

With a lisp.

The Gay Bar: Is it dying? - By June Thomas - Slate Magazine

When the New York State Senate voted 33-29 to approve same-sex marriage on Friday, June 24, gay and lesbian New Yorkers—and some straight supporters—knew the perfect place to celebrate: They headed to the Stonewall Inn, the gay bar where, 42 years earlier, the modern gay rights movement had been born. Amid the glorious chaos of fire-eaters, drag queens, and spontaneous proposals, older gay couples walked hand-in-hand admiring the scene. The jubilation at Stonewall and on the surrounding streets was a stirring celebration of progress. But I can't help wondering whether, as gay rights move forward, the gay bar—the place where it all began—may get left behind.

I rarely go to gay bars anymore. I've been in a happy relationship for 14 years with someone who rarely drinks. Bars are loud, they get going too late, and they're packed with kids half my age. They make me feel old. But I feel bad about abandoning them. I still remember the terrifying, giddy excitement of my first forays into gay pubs and clubs, the thrill of discovering other lesbians and gay men in all their beautiful, dreary, fabulous, sleazy variety. I learned how to dance to 15-minute techno remixes under spinning disco balls, how to appreciate tacky drag shows and to show proper respect for the heroines of the pool table. Gay bars are my cultural patrimony and my political heritage.

Read the entire article here:

via www.slate.com

AIDS at 30: this gets personal

Living in New York City in the 1980s, at once exhilarating, slowly became exhausting as friend after friend slowly succumbed to a series of horrible diseases and died.

Arriving to the eastern shores of New York City in 1980, I was given a sentimental journey by  a friend showed who showed me around the Brambles in Central Park, the piers down in the West Village, the Gaiety in midtown, The Anvil in the meat packing district—this was New York City at its wildest, with the shadowy figure of men in bushes, on delicate planks of wood, this was New York City before the storm. Fresh from the last vestiges of disco, the gay community was alive and well in 1980. By the next year, mostly through the reporting in the New York Native newspaper, weekly reports of young men succumbing to strange diseases became rampant.

It’s hard to imagine but this was a time when there was so much uncertainty that every itch, blemish, bump or sore throat was certain to lead to the grave. “You lost weight” was no longer a desired observation but a hint at your medical condition.

Certain habits were created that have remained: a daily inspection of the obituaries. In that first decade, there would usually be three or four death notices, and as it was Manhattan, a small island, so it was probable to know some of the dead and dying. As a gay man it was certain. So, when it came to close friends becoming ill, there was a stage of bewilderment and disbelief. In the 80s, there was so little information that had any certainty: kissing, that simplest and sexiest of acts was on the list of possible ways of contagion. Friends would rally. We formulated a schedule so that our friend was never alone. He was diagnosed with dementia. One evening when I arrived he shit all over himself and did not know to clean it up. I recall that I looked at my friend who was attending him and we both were embarrassed not just for our friend, but for ourselves, we hardly knew how to handle a situation like this.

Death was the easy part, dying required some greater human skill: belief. Talking to a friend who had recently been diagnosed, at age 24, he was telling me he was OK with it, he had lived a good life, he was ready. People would disappear, phones lines disconnected, only be to be found in the obituaries, often on different coasts. And it did feel like it was New York City plague, though we all understood that San Francisco was being equally demolished. Los Angeles, often visited during this time always seemed liked a city on holiday: they didn’t know what I was talking about.  It was further evidence that Los Angeles was not a city, but a landscape.

At some point, things manifested. Small white lesions in my mouth sent me to the bookstore looking up something called Thrush. A visit to the dentist only sent me packing to an oral surgeon, who cut away a slice of mouth and sent it to the laboratory. In the week that I waited I lost weight. I knew it had finally come to me; it was my turn to die. It was 1988 and I was picking out coffins.

In March of that year, Nancy Reagan, then the first lady had undergone a similar procedure and the diagnosis was something call actinic keratosis. The white spots were not Thrush, but the experience was enough to send me away from Manhattan.  Leaving the small studio apartment in the West Village, I said good by to one of the most romantic places on earth, but it had turned ripe with disease, hospital visits and most of all, fear.

 

 

AIDS: 30 Years

Thirty years ago Sunday, a brief report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report described cases of a rare form of pneumonia called Pneumocystis carinii in five young Los Angeles men, "all active homosexuals." The cases were noteworthy because the men had previously been healthy, though their particular pneumonia had only been seen in people with severely depressed immune systems.

Within a month, a second report had identified 54 young gay men with a rare cancer known as Kaposi's sarcoma, another disease that had been almost unknown in young men. And by the following summer, the mysterious disease underlying these reports had a name: acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS.

AIDS was a murderous, mysterious delinquent that emerged seemingly out of nowhere. Transmitted primarily through sexual activity and blood, it mowed down whole communities of young gay men, tore through a generation of intravenous drug users and made orphans of millions of the world's children.

In the 30 years since its first recognition, AIDS has killed nearly 30 million people worldwide, including more than 615,000 in the United States. Today, an additional 34 million people — including nearly 1.2 million in the U.S. — are living with the virus that causes the disease, human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. This year, 1.8 million of them will die, including about 17,000 in this country.

The identification of HIV in 1983 brought the promise of a quick fix for the problem, a vaccine that would block transmission. Sadly, that promise has not materialized. The shifty virus mutates so rapidly and has so many ways of entering the white blood cells that are its primary target that vaccine researchers have had only limited success.

The best results so far were from a 2009 trial in Thailand that reduced new HIV infections by a modest 26%. The results hinted that a vaccine might eventually be possible, but suggested that researchers still had a long way to go to produce one that is useful.

story continues here 

Johnny Weir Named L.A. Gay Pride Grand Marshal

Pop Star on Ice and Skating With the Stars judge Johnny Weir has been named grand marshal of the 2011 L.A. Gay Pride Parade.

The openly gay three-time U.S. figure skating champion and star of Be Good Johnny Weir has been an advocate for gay rights and will oversee the June 12 parade as it travels along Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, Calif.

"Johnny lives a life with a defined purpose, is dedicated to helping young people and is not afraid to be himself, sometimes not always an easy thing for a world-class athlete,” said Christopher Street West board president Rodney Scott.

Said Weir: “I’m not ashamed to be me. More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself. What’s wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become,” the two-time Olympian said.

The 41st annual Los Angeles Pride Parade draws more than 400,000 people to West Hollywood for a weekend of events celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender visibility. It is organized by Christopher Street West, the group that produced the first LGBT Pride Parade.

Previous grand marshals have included Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, Chelsea Handler, Cyndi Lauper and Kathy Griffin.

.

via www.hollywoodreporter.com

Twin Peaks red ribbon marks 30th AIDS anniversary

A giant red ribbon was staked to the eastern slope of San Francisco's Twin Peaks on Sunday to mark the upcoming 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic and to serve as a sobering reminder that the disease is still spreading.

via www.sfgate.com

Rep. John Kriesel speaks about anti-gay marriage amendment

Representative John Kriesel, a Republican speaks to The Minnesota House of Representatives regarding the anti-gay marriage amendment referencing Andrew Wilfahrt, a Rosemount solider who was killed in Afghanistan on Feb. 27, who was gay. Tonight on the Rachel Maddow Show, the parents of Wilfahrt, Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt, gave a heartfelt interview confessing that their speeches fell on deaf ears to the mostly Republican representatives. After roughly five hours of often emotional debate, House members voted 70 to 62 in favor of Republican Representative Steve Gottwalt's amendment, which seeks to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the Minnesota Constitution, sending it to voters for their approval during next year's general election. Minnesota currently bans such unions by law, but supporters say it remains vulnerable to legal challenges without the amendment.