Planet Homo

Tonight in West Hollywood, the Lambda Literary Foundation will celebrate and announce the winners of the 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Special honorees will be Ann Bannon, Mark Thompson and the venerable Rev. Malcolm Boyd. I was honored when Foundation director Charles Flowers called me and asked if I would be interested in designing the poster and program for this year's event.
Stephen Sondheim once asked the vital question: "does anyone still wear a hat?" and the same could be asked about books and literature in general. Does anyone still read, especially anyone under 40?
For those of us of a certain age, generation, books are undoubtedly an intrinsic part of our growing up. For many the first glimpse into the world of sex, came from discreet readings of Dr. David Reuben's misguided "Everything you always wanted to know about sex". We learned about our world from the writings of Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams and for me, it was Djuna Barnes who opened my eyes to the secret world of same sex love. Her novel, Nightwood, was that first glance into a world filled with peculiar characters who spoke, at considerable length about unhappy subjects such as the night, lust, obsession, betrayal, longing and the requisite pain that usually accompanied love.
A long list of books somewhat similar ensued: Thomas Wolfe, Truman Capote and later Edmund White with the elegiac Nocturnes for the King of Naples. I was drawn by atmospheric, moody writing that lingered on an instance, transcended the ordinary and promised a world rich in conversation and art. In other words, the dramatic.
In my mind, I like to think we all wish we could write a novel. We all have a story tell, but it is much like songwriting, it is far more difficult than you imagine. That is why I respect and love authors: they get the job done. They tell the story. Tonight, it is their story. I will be there, listening.

When Will They Ever Learn...

Yet another story about Hollywood intellectuals attempting to explain the ways and means of the Universe:
Actress Sharon Stone has sparked criticism in China after claiming the recent earthquake could have been the result of bad "karma". The US star, speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, linked the recent disaster to Beijing's policy on Tibet. She said: "I thought, 'Is that karma?' When you are not nice, bad things happen to you." But Stone added she "cried" after the Tibetan Foundation asked her to help quake victims.

Stone, 50, said: "They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry. "It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you."

Stone made her comments last week in a brief interview with a Hong Kong film crew.
"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said in footage widely available on the internet.
 "And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, is that karma?"

Dateline: Hollywood

For those those of you who dream of Hollywood, it is different for those us who live here. In a moment's notice, streets are vanquished to temporary sets, street parking is forbidden, heavily ticketed as the camera's roll into action. And so it was today as Hollywood took over our street. Filming a new episode of "Monk"
for the USA Network, we have to admit this: actors work long hours. Tony Shalhoub was out early and finished around 7:30. If you have never witnessed a TV show or movie being filmed there is only thing you need to know: there is a lot of waiting time between shots. Actors, actresses, spend a lot of time on their cell phones. iphones to be exact. But we couldn't help but wonder why a fairly nostalgic street in Los Angeles would need to pose as a San Francisco street? The plot is unknown, but apparently, someone jumped judging from the dummy that was laid sprawled out on the lawn.

Legendary Passing

  It is perhaps appropriate that no on mentions that the late Sydney Pollack was also an actor in the current romantic thriller, "Made of Honor". A minor role as Patrick Dempsey's habitually-marrying father, Sydney Pollack in every role he played loomed large on the screen. He had a presence, a commanding presence, and you felt he was someone formidable to deal with. This was not exactly true in his other profession, film director. As an actor, he could speak the same language as he directed other actors, and this is evident in the numerous films he directed.
Photographer Michael Davis and I met, ever so briefly, Sydney Pollack last year at the Palms Springs International Film Festival. We met nearly everyone famous at the time as we were photographing celebrities for the Desert Sun magazine, backstage in a hurried portraits session that ultimately revealed how kind and interesting celebrities can be, and how good Michael Davis could be under pressure. Michael photographed Cissy Spacek , Morgan Freeman, Phillip Glass among others, and of course, Sydney Pollack. I asked Michael about photographing Sydney Pollack:  "we only had a few minutes with him but he was a gentlemen. And even though we had shot that night Morgan Freeman, Cissy Spacek, and all the Oscar winners, he was a director, which I always find a little weird as I am directing a director, on how to stand and what to do.  It was one of my favorite moments as a photographer."
The lights will dim next Oscar ceremony, the minor chords will rise as the memoriam begins revealing a list of people, some known, some unknown, who passed this year. Sydney Pollack will sadly, be among them.
Among his achievements were  "The Way We Were" (with Barbra Streisand), "Jeremiah Johnson," "Three Days of the Condor" (with Faye Dunaway), "The Electric Horseman" (with Fonda), "Out of Africa" (with Meryl Streep) and "Havana." My favorite comment is from actor/director George Clooney who said:  "Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better."

Lonely Planet

Nothing. There is nothing there. In a question asked by David Bowie decades ago, the answer seems to be no. There is no life on Mars. Barren as far as the eye can see, the Red Planet, Mars appears to be desolate. No Martians, favorite or otherwise, no trees, red rivers, curious insects or evidence that our UFO friends might have made a visit. We made the trip, a mere 422 million mile star trek only to find the Mojave Desert. As if it weren't sad enough that there was no man on the Moon, today, we really must come grips with the possibility that we are alone. At least in our neighborhood of the Universe.
For a moment, let's think otherwise, what would the headlines be today if it had been different. It would change everything, for a week at least. Our first question would have to be, is it friendly? Does it talk? Can it vote?
One pines for magic other than the Hollywood-produced kind of technological insight that produced hundreds of films about visits from Mars and our visits to Mars. If only. If only there were something out there, something to hang our hopes on, something to, if for only a moment, make us think about our planet, our universe and even a gateway to the big question, did God create the universe? As it is, God created only this planet in his/her/it's selfishness. Or rather, the peculiar circumstance of oxygen, distance to the sun, water and other elements ultimately mixed into a porridge that we now know as life.
Seeing the vacant lots of Mars we should be reminded of that mysterious biological or spiritual evolution. We should take better care of the soil, the air, the oceans and one another.                              

Hot New Talent

Bryn Christopher is a 22 year old Birmingham, England born singer songwriter who is the composer of the spectacular song, "Quest", which was the music behind the montage of kisses on the Grey's Anatomy season ender. The song is inspired by his brother's army service in Basra and asks some relevant questions about war. Christopher has been touring England with Amy Winehouse and was recently signed to William Morris in America. Beautiful voice, beautiful face, Bryn Christopher is nothing less than fabulous.

LA Weekly Cover Story

California GOP: The Queer Enablers of Gay Marriage

How Republicans accomplished what the Dems could not

VMAN FINALIST ANNOUNCED

No, you are not looking at a trio of hot young white boys on their way to an orgy in Palm Springs. Yes, they have not eaten in weeks, they are are all "southern boys" and they are finalists in the curious  VMAN/Ford model search. While this has not been a closely watched contests, the result are sure to raise some already raised eyebrows: WTF? Of course it's all a ploy to get everyone to wander over to their website, where oddly, there is no mention of these boys or the contest, except for a deeply buried item in the bowels of the blog section. We will be reporting in a few short weeks on the winner, who will be flown to Los Angeles for a photo shoot with Hedi Slimane.

O Happy Day

New Editor, Old Magazine

Have you ever been at a newsstand among the millions of magazine titles and wondered, who buys them? Frankly, I don't know of anyone who reads Instinct, Out, The Advocate or Attitude for that matter. Visits to their websites will satisfy any curiosity, which is usually brief in that nothing has changed.
Today we learn that the British gay magazine, Attitude has a new editor with the musical name of Matthew Todd, or Mr. Todd.
The poor magazine has been through the ringer. The magazine was purchased a few years ago by a company that owns Asian Babes and Women's Fitness. It has made appearances on the newsstand only to disappear and bring speculation to those bloggers who care about such media matters.
So who reads these magazines? Instinct, years back was funny, arch and biting. They tasted success and quickly assimilated into the culture of gay magazines that bows to the advertiser (Calvin Klein being the most courted and most indifferent).
Out? Maybe twenty years ago, and seven, nine editors back. I can say this now: Brendan Lemon was the most boring editor on the face of the planet, Planet Out or elsewhere.
Our old alma matter, Genre? If you like that Fox Show Red Eye you will like this editor. They are the same person. If one occasionally wondered why Lesbians were captains for what could be perceived as gay mens publications, then why would anyone be attracted to a coke-snorting "bisexual" drama queen? Actually, he was not the first. The fact is, some of those Lesbian editors were brilliant.
There was at one time a glamor about being the editor of a gay magazine. With circulations circling the 120,000 readers a month (and that is the best it can get), magazines like Genre had/have a circulation about 60-80,000 readers. That's a fraction of the universe when you consider a former editor like Andy Towle gets nearly 700,000 readers a month (thanks MD). You do the math.
They are quaint. Perfect for bathrooms and airplanes, swimming pools and lazy summer days. We, and I certainly would miss them if they disappeared. Some will.
As for Mr Todd? Good luck Mr. Todd...do something brilliant, outrageous and compelling, as only a gay European magazine can.

The Ultimate Gay Bar

The Bunny Goes Gay

Playboy Enterprises is planning a move into the gay market with softcore cable video-on-demand it was reported earlier this week.

With a working title of Gay Targeted VOD Package Service, Playboy plans to initially offer Time Warner Cable subscribers 20 hours of gay male programming. The service is slated to begin operating next month.

Although the Playboy brand has been linked with heterosexual men’s entertainment since its magazine's first issue in 1953, the company now describes itself more generally as "valuing sexiness and style" and is seeking more ways to diversify and boost its revenue.

Earlier this week Playboy said revenue dropped 8 percent compared to year-ago quarterly figures, with domestic TV revenue down by $2.6 million in the first three months of the year.

PH learned of the move into the U.S. gay market in a letter dated March 31 to Time Warner Cable Vice President Melinda Witmer from Playboy President Bob Meyers, which added an amendment to its affiliation with the nation’s largest cable company.

According to the memo obtained by PH, Playboy will offer “professionally produced adult programs selected by Playboy, targeted to the male gay community, edited to a standard no more explicit” than softcore pornography.

Each program in the package “may depict erect genitalia, male-on-male fellatio and simulated or implied sexual intercourse.”

But, according to the memo, content “shall not depict actual anal penetration, licking or anal sexual play of any kind.”

Male ejaculation and forced bondage also will be off limits.

VH1 SEX: THE REVOLUTION

The series on VH 1 if nothing else shows that American culture has radically changed in the last fifty years. It is remarkable to think that there was a time when interracial marriage was against the law, gay men were arrested simply for being interested in another man, and masturbation was considered a sin.

Just Odd

This is apparently an ad for Play Station 3 for European audiences. Europe as we all know is progressive. I have even written about this concept in the new Folio magazine. But this ad is just confusing. Is that a thumb?

Techblorge.com seems to think its real also:

The agency responsible for the ad is the Vienna chapter of TBWA Worldwide, says Copyranter and Gawker. The agency is based in New York City but operates globally in 75 countries.

Upon first sight, we were thoroughly confused, “that boy has a thumb for a penis,” we thought. Revisiting the ad for a second inspection, we finally understand (at least we think we do) what they’re getting at, but we don’t approve. We really don’t approve.

Our hypothesis says the ad means one of two things: men are losing their masculinity to video games or Sony is saying masculinity is found in the Playstation 3. Considering that Sony is a video games company, it’s likely saying the latter.

Robert Rauschenberg

One of the art world's greatest painters has died. Robert Rauschenberg, who along with Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns (with whom he had a long relationship) was a major player in the Pop Art movement of the 60s. Read the entire obituary here.

Like the Cover

Joel Derfner has a new book.

When a man shoves cash into his underwear, he's no longer the boy who was "asked to leave the floor during the fast skate at the roller rink at Randy Cohen's tenth birthday party," but a horny, sweaty man who is desired by other horny, sweaty men. In many ways, the book is about his search for acceptance, often of the physical variety (even though he's in a relationship, he can't help giving the fish eye to any guy taking away his crushes). A typical Derfnerism: "I just wanted to reinvent myself again, but with anal sex instead of Snickers."

A review here.

A Member of the Wedding

I think we can safely say that Gay people have joined American television in a big way. Last weeks Grey's Anatomy featured a very hot kiss between two American soldiers and last night in what is being billed as the first gay marriage on network television, Kevin and Scotty got married on the season finale of ABC’s Brothers and Sisters. It is remarkable. The “marriage” was handled with great dignity and respect by the ever-dramatic Walker family. Clearly ABC has become every gay man and woman’s best friend. So it is about the acting that one can make comments. There is so little spark between these two men that it is sometimes uncomfortable to watch them kiss. While on Grey's Anatomy the scene lasted only moments, there was something very passionate and real about these two men kissing. This is quibbling over details to be sure. The mere fact that two men are are making on national TV should be regarded as the high benchmark that is. Brothers and Sisters, which is written and produced by gay men, is an extraordinary leap into the American reality.

Life After Skin

Perez Predicts, Again...

He scored an Emmy nomination for his work as gay teen Luke Snyder on the daytime soap As the World Turns, but according to gossip columnist Perez Hilton, actor Van Hansis isn’t just playing gay on TV.   

Though gay publications have been covering Hansis’ groundbreaking work on the daytime drama for months, his sexuality has never been a topic of discussion.

Now, Hilton has linked the 26-year-old actor to Broadway performer Tyler Hanes, posting photos of the look-alike actors and saying he has on good authority the two are dating.   

The announcement came out of left field—there has been next to no speculation on Hansis’ sexuality in the media.   

A huge supporter of the GLAAD Media Awards and media efforts to shine a light on the storyline, Hansis scored an Emmy nod for Outstanding Achievement by a Younger Actor in a Daytime Drama just last week.

PS: that's an atrocious kiss.

 

Drinking Again

The Ellie Awards

NEW YORK, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) bestowed the industry's most prestigious editorial honors tonight at the 43rd annual National Magazine Awards. The black-tie gala at New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, gathered more than 1,000 editors, publishers, industry professionals and guests to celebrate 25 winners across 20 categories. Named after the Alexander Calder Stabile "Elephant," the 2008 "Ellies" drew a record-setting 1,964 entries from 333 print and online magazines.

The 2008 National Magazine Award winners are: 

 

• National Geographic for General Excellence (over 2,000,000 circulation)
• The New Yorker for General Excellence (1,000,000 to 2,000,000 circulation)
• GQ for General Excellence (500,000 to 1,000,000 circulation)
• Backpacker for General Excellence (250,000 to 500,000 circulation)
• Mother Jones for General Excellence (100,000 to 250,000 circulation)
• Print for General Excellence (under 100,000 circulation)
• Popular Mechanics for Personal Service
• New York for Leisure Interests
• National Geographic for Reporting
• The Nation for Public Interest
• Atlanta for Feature Writing
• Vanity Fair for Profile Writing
• New Letters for Essays
• Rolling Stone for Columns and Commentary
• The Atlantic for Reviews and Criticism
• Conde Nast Portfolio for Magazine Section
• The Virginia Quarterly Review for Single-topic Issue
• Wired for Design
• Gourmet for Photography
• National Geographic for Photojournalism
• Vanity Fair for Photo Portfolio
• Harper's Magazine for Fiction
• RunnersWorld.com for General Excellence Online 
• BusinessWeek.com for Personal Service Online
• Bicycling.com for Interactive Feature