tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56496752024-03-06T23:53:34.154-06:00Highway 290 RevisitedA 30-something gay writer's take on the latest in music, books, movies, television, sports, and politicsRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.comBlogger1360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-6599938872856929822010-04-15T09:17:00.000-05:002010-04-15T09:19:26.396-05:00Yann Martel, Beatrice and Virgil<span style="font-weight: bold;">Disappointing Follow Up</span><br />Clever was the marketer who put the animals on the cover of <span style="font-style: italic;">Beatrice and Virgil</span>, which is designed to look like it's <span style="font-style: italic;">Life of Pi</span>, part deux. But while this book, too, features talking animals, it has none of the charm of its predecessor. It's a slight little book, barely half the size of <span style="font-style: italic;">Life of Pi </span>and with half the interest. The not-at-all-shocking secret at the end of the book (which you'll figure out a few pages in if you have any sense at all of dramatic irony) is probably supposed to add heft and make <span style="font-style: italic;">B&V</span> feel bigger than it is...but it doesn't.<br /><br />This feels like Martel had to churn something out--indeed, the Martel-ish narrator has a serious case of writer's block--and so he came up with a little writing experiment, carried it out, and published it with a donkey and a monkey on the cover to sell some copies. Fans of <span style="font-style: italic;">Life of Pi</span> deserved better.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon Vine review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GS94AFMC8HWU/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-73528557031789195102010-01-20T09:39:00.005-06:002010-01-20T09:56:13.260-06:00Pass the Bill. Now.This morning congressional Democrats are talking about killing their year-in-the-making health care bill because Martha Coakley lost in Massachusetts. This would be the stupidest thing they have ever done.<br /><br />Well, maybe not as stupid as spending months talking to Mike Enzi about health care reform. Or dithering until history could call Olympia Snowe. (I guess that was actually a wrong number.)<br /><br />But it will be stupid nonetheless. A year ago, a generation watched as the president we elected pledged to change the nation. He brought with him sweeping majorities in both houses and a mandate to fix things. A year later, an entire generation is being told that our votes matter less than those of a few cranky Red Sox fans. The Senate health care reform is not perfect--far from it. But it represents a vast improvement over the status quo, and the willingness of Democrats to scuttle it over a single election--to give up Ted Kennedy's dream, essentially, because Ted died!--is shameful. If we cannot face down a few foaming-at-the-mouth Republicans, why should the American people trust us to face down tougher challenges?<br /><br />Pass the bill. Do it today. Do it proudly, with heads held high, knowing you are on the right side of history. Campaign that way, never apologizing, praising the merits of the bill, reminding people of all the good it contains and all the problems it will fix. THAT is how you win elections. And even if we still lose in 2010...at least Dems will have done something with the mandate given in 2008. Something lasting. Something real. Something for the history books. Anything else will be a disappointment that a generation, ready and willing to be Democrats for life if only the party earns that loyalty, will not soon forget.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-2986739832888123512010-01-02T14:58:00.002-06:002010-01-03T17:55:51.051-06:00Adam Haslett, Union Atlantic<span style="font-weight: bold;">Decade's First Masterpiece</span><br />Adam Haslett began as a short story writer, a fact very much in evidence in this, his first novel. Clocking in at 304 pages, <span style="font-style: italic;">Union Atlantic</span> will give no one eyestrain, with generous line spacing and margins. A cheaper publisher would have crammed the whole thing into 200 pages and saved money on paper.<br /><br />So this is a novel, but it is not a long one. Which makes Haslett's achievement all the more remarkable, for <span style="font-style: italic;">Union Atlantic</span> is positively symphonic in its ambitions. It contains the world! Rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, high finance and common drudgery, war and peace, young and old and in-between. Two well-drawn main characters--next-door neighbors embroiled in a battle over, at root, the tearing down of trees--lead us out into a whole host of others, each given subtle shadings and motivations that ring true. A bank--and the entire financial system!--teeter quietly on the brink of oblivion, as do an old woman's sanity, a young man's sexuality, and an in-between man's understanding of why he is who he is.<br /><br />Never preachy, never ripped-from-the-headlines, <span style="font-style: italic;">Union Atlantic</span> still, somehow, captures a precise moment in time and preserves it. The run-up to yet another Middle East war, the crashing-down of the regulatory apparatus and near ruin of the economic system, the brand-new giant houses devoid of furniture or feeling--these give the novel heft even as its persuasive characters give it heart.<br /><br />By chronicling, so concisely and yet so thoroughly, the perils and plagues and passions of the century's first decade, Haslett has crafted the first literary masterpiece of its second.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon Vine review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RTY72W7REDH4R/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-69004343979087368092009-12-19T12:53:00.006-06:002010-06-06T14:24:21.087-05:00Best Albums of the DecadeRather than be guided by the top-ten convention, I let the music be my muse for this list. Six albums stood out clearly from the pack, followed by nineteen albums that merited an honorable mention, for a total of twenty-five albums offered in two tiers and otherwise listed by release date. I believe the top six are, artistically, the highlights of the decade; the remainder of the list is made up of albums whose artistic merits I would gladly defend, but my connection to many of them is more personal. (Note: No artist could make the list more than once.)<br /><br />Top Tier:<br />Kid A - Radiohead (2000)<br />Love and Theft - Bob Dylan (2001)<br />Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco (2002)<br />Funeral - Arcade Fire (2004)<br />Van Lear Rose - Loretta Lynn (2004)<br />Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (2007)<br /><br />Tier Two:<br />Gold - Ryan Adams (2001)<br />Vespertine - Bjork (2001)<br />A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay (2002)<br />Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol (2002)<br />Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - Flaming Lips (2002)<br />Chutes Too Narrow - The Shins (2003)<br />Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle & Sebastian (2003)<br />Failer - Kathleen Edwards (2003)<br />Want One - Rufus Wainwright (2003)<br />Eveningland - Hem (2004)<br />Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron & Wine (2004)<br />Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (2004)<br />Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple (2005)<br />I Am A Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons (2005)<br />The Forgotten Arm - Aimee Mann (2005)<br />Black Cadillac - Rosanne Cash (2006)<br />Boxer - The National (2007)<br />The Con - Tegan and Sara (2007)<br />In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy (2008)Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-77931671738557278872009-12-11T16:41:00.003-06:002009-12-11T16:48:22.942-06:00One Decade, One Disc--Sort OfLooking for your best of 2009? Probably not, considering how infrequently I post and how little commentary I've made about music of late. Go get Grizzly Bear and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that's my advice about 2009. Or just watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsthwTUTylQ">Bad Romance</a> over and over until you know all the words and all the moves and all the outfits by heart. Not that I've done that...<br /><br />Anyway, what I <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> have for you is a decade-spanning compilation. One song per year, though not necessarily <span style="font-style: italic;">from</span> that year--the songs are all from this decade, and they're matched up to something that happened in a particular year. But of course, in recognition of the fact that blogging is really just navel-gazing, the things that happened, well, they happened to me. So if it doesn't all make sense, you can be forgiven for just listening to 10 pretty good songs and not trying to figure it all out. Enjoy!<br /><br />Tracklist:<br />Take Your Mama Out - Scissor Sisters (2000)<br />New York, New York - Ryan Adams (2001)<br />Minneapolis - Lucinda Williams (2002)<br />Optimistic - Radiohead (2003)<br />Fistful of Love - Antony and the Johnsons (2004)<br />In the Backseat - Arcade Fire (2005)<br />Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem (2006)<br />Even If It Kills Me - Motion City Soundtrack (2007)<br />Call It Off - Tegan and Sara (2008)<br />31 Today - Aimee Mann (2009)<br /><br />Want it? <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?h0yzyd3hywd">Click here</a>.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-41477820522012247742009-11-28T13:36:00.001-06:002009-11-28T13:38:29.273-06:00Douglas Coupland, Generation A<span style="font-weight: bold;">Coupland is Back!</span><br />The stories we tell ourselves define us--in fact, they're so important they can save the world. And when we stop telling them, stop reading them, stop caring, we become a planet of zombies, doomed to destroy ourselves. That's the far-fetched, but never heavy-handed, message of Generation A, a vigorous return to form for Douglas Coupland that updates his tale of disaffection for a new generation.<br /><br />The story revolves around five young people around the globe, each of whom is stung by a bee. No big deal--except that bees have gone extinct. There are no flowers, fruit is a hand-pollinated luxury item, and almost everyone is addicted to watching old YouTube videos or playing World of Warcraft--and to a new drug that can make people stop caring about the future.<br /><br />Why were the five young people stung? This mystery propels the book forward at a galloping pace; I tore through its 300 pages in two days. The message is subtle but unmistakable; dark humor populates every page, but Coupland has serious, timely concerns, and he's created one hell of a page-turner to convey them.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon Vine review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2XSUVZI6E43Y7/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-55323985996172473982009-11-25T17:00:00.001-06:002009-11-28T13:40:35.368-06:00D.C. Pierson, The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep (and Never Had To)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Premise, Iffy Execution</span><br />Fantastic title? Check. Great cover art? Check. Interesting narrator? Check.<br /><br />This should be a five-star enterprise, right? And it is interesting and engaging and evocative of what it feels like to be a kid in high school--right up until the big reveal (spoiled by the title, but a secret for almost half the book). Before that happens, the little framing narrative at the beginning seems like a cryptic curiosity; afterward the expectation that somehow the other half of the frame will provide some closure grows and grows as things take several madcap turns. These madcap turns, and the second half of the frame's failure to provide closure, make it impossible for me to give this book more than three stars. Too bad--the materials were definitely there for something better. I'd definitely give Pierson another shot--I just hope he can sustain the same level of quality for the whole book next time.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon Vine review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3U3O0U3CY4AXJ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-4595014455655318152009-10-20T07:51:00.002-05:002009-10-20T07:52:53.350-05:00A.J. Jacobs, The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an ExperimentYou know how a band you love will make a couple great albums and then you'll be waiting for a new one and instead they'll release an EP of six songs, which is pretty darn good but really is just makes you want another album?<br /><br />This book is like that. A.J. Jacobs published two winners in a row, first reading the encyclopedia from cover to cover and then reading and following the dictates of the Bible. How do you top that? Apparently you don't; you start doing month-long experiments with your life instead of year-long ones. Whether he's trying out online dating as a woman, living by the code of George Washington, outsourcing his life to India, being "radically honest," or obeying everything his wife Julie says, Jacobs is always witty and observant and trenchant in his commentary on what his experiment has taught him. If you like Jacobs, you'll like this.<br /><br />But I'm sorry, Julie: I want another big book. I hope A.J. thinks of something to do that doesn't completely turn your life upside down!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3R4AEBB9JNJ0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2MC9FNCM3TG4C/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm"></a></span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-74711293463301758622009-10-13T13:19:00.001-05:002009-10-13T13:21:11.234-05:00Jonathan Lethem, Chronic City<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lots of laughs, some great lines, but...</span><br />But. That's the word I keep coming to as I try to describe this book. But it doesn't make sense, in the end. But the names of the characters are too clever by half. But I'm not sure if this is a 9/11 parable, a twitchy love letter to Manhattan, or a paranoid fantasy written while stoned. But if you want to read Lethem, there are so many other, better books you could choose than this one.<br /><br />But...should you read this one? I'm not sure. If you do you'll want to put it down after 50 pages, and no one would blame you. It does get better, somehow; the longer you're trapped in Lethem's bizarro-world version of Manhattan the more it all starts to make sense: the eagles chasing the mayor's fixer into the arms of a woman dubbed the Hawkman, the three-legged dog with her own apartment, the doomed space station trapped by Chinese mines, the sculptures of empty space, the gray fog over the city, the snow in August. And then the final chapters roll around, and you feel like finally, you get it, only to turn the final pages and ask yourself: Was he the dupe? Or was I? Much as I want someone to discuss that question with, now that I've finished reading, I don't know if I can recommend subjecting yourself to the same thing.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is an Amazon Vine review, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2MC9FNCM3TG4C/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">available here</a>.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-91474947681335697042009-08-18T10:25:00.003-05:002009-08-18T10:35:02.874-05:00AddendumChange of mind: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Colours-Cut-Copy/dp/B0014FCRWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250609212&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">In Ghost Colours</span> by Cut Copy</a> is my favorite album of 2008.<br /><br />So far this year it's Grizzly Bear and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but we shall see...<br /><br />If you're reading this and haven't been by the blog in a while, the Amazon reviews feed has some new stuff in it, including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2EP9ME1ZR6LXW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm"><span style="font-style: italic;">South of Broad</span></a> by Pat Conroy, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R36MTGSE2MCRBC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget's Thesauru</span>s</a> by Joshua Kendall, and<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R1R5ZMKGAHWVUJ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">Past Imperfect</a></span> by Julian Fellowes.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-17638673447462903302008-12-13T17:29:00.003-06:002008-12-13T17:43:59.775-06:00Best Music, 2008Every year I say a little less about music, don't I?<br /><br />This year I'll keep it super short-and-sweet. My favorite album of the year? <span style="font-style: italic;">Robyn</span>, by Robyn. No one is more surprised by this than me. I also loved <span style="font-style: italic;">@#%&*! Smilers</span> by Aimee Mann, <span style="font-style: italic;">Oracular Spectacular</span> by MGMT, <span style="font-style: italic;">Santogold</span> by Santogold, and <span style="font-style: italic;">A Piece of What You Need</span> by Teddy Thompson.<br /><br />But the mix of songs I made for 2008 is what really sums the year up for me. Previous years saw a CD-only affair distributed to about five people, but in 2008 it's gone completely digital. No half-steps for me! You can <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?nyj2mmatymm">download it here</a>.<br /><br />And here's a tracklist:<br />1. The Weepies - Can't Go Back Now<br />2. MGMT - Time to Pretend<br />3. Aimee Mann - Freeway<br />4. Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes<br />5. Alphabeat - Fascination<br />6. Robyn - Be Mine!<br />7. Cut Copy - Lights and Music<br />8. Wood Brothers - Buckets of Rain<br />9. Duffy - Rockferry<br />10. MGMT - Electric Feel<br />11. Aimee Mann - 31 Today<br />12. Martha Wainwright - Love is a Stranger<br />13. Santogold - I'm a Lady<br />14. Robyn - With Every Heartbeat<br />15. Teddy Thompson - Jonathan's Book<br />16. Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook<br />17. Nada Surf - See These Bones<br /><br />Next year I'll write a haiku.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-70992052184723314232008-09-15T14:01:00.001-05:002008-09-15T14:03:43.540-05:00Unfit to LeadObama's new ad sums it up:<br /><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1185304443" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=1786848892&playerId=1185304443&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" width="400" height="329"></embed>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-1918734572834263052008-07-08T11:22:00.003-05:002008-07-08T11:33:21.961-05:00Still HangingWell, the writers of <span style="font-style: italic;">As the World Turns</span> are clever folk! They know that they've got their audience panting for Luke and Noah to finally--FINALLY!--have sex, and damned if they're not going to make us wait as long as humanly possible. It's got to happen soon; yesterday's episode pushed aside the last real impediment as Noah came home to Luke after considering enlisting. (I know, I know--how stupid!--but at least now we know Noah won't decide to join the Army at some point down the road.)<br /><br />In the meantime, my friend Andy, who helped make the guys so popular in the first place by uploading their entire story to YouTube, made this video. Watch through the end for a little surprise...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lFQh5Mx_lMY&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lFQh5Mx_lMY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Oh, and after months of toiling in other people's fields, I have one that I'm tending along with some of the coolest folks I've ever met: <a href="http://www.vanandjake.com">www.vanandjake.com</a>. Stop by and see the ducks!Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-55387088316056649192008-07-05T11:46:00.003-05:002008-07-05T11:56:31.721-05:00Halfway ThereWell, we're halfway through 2008 and so far my CD-buying is continuing its tailspin. Consider that four of these albums are on their way to me right now and three of them I only own because I was asked to review them for Amazon and you can see just how much less music I am buying than in years past. Am I getting old? (I don't have an iPod, so I guess that question answers itself.)<br /><br />Beck, <span style="font-style: italic;">Modern Guilt </span><br />Coldplay, <span style="font-style: italic;">Viva La Vida</span> <br />Kathleen Edwards, <span style="font-style: italic;">Asking for Flowers</span> <br />Fleet Foxes, <span style="font-style: italic;">Fleet Foxes </span><br />Jackie Greene, <span style="font-style: italic;">Giving Up the Ghost </span><br />Cyndi Lauper, <span style="font-style: italic;">Bring Ya to the Brink </span><br />Shelby Lynne, <span style="font-style: italic;">Just a Little Lovin' </span><br />Aimee Mann, <span style="font-style: italic;">@#%&*! Smilers </span><br />MGMT, <span style="font-style: italic;">Oracular Spectacular</span> <br />Bob Mould, <span style="font-style: italic;">District Line </span><br />My Morning Jacket, <span style="font-style: italic;">Evil Urges </span><br />Nada Surf, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucky </span><br />R.E.M., <span style="font-style: italic;">Accelerate </span><br />Radiohead, <span style="font-style: italic;">In Rainbows</span> <br />Santogold, <span style="font-style: italic;">Santogold </span><br />Sigur Ros, <span style="font-style: italic;">Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust </span><br />Weezer, <span style="font-style: italic;">Weezer (The Red Album) </span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-12754783993644908702008-07-01T10:43:00.002-05:002008-07-01T10:46:30.074-05:00Together AgainIt's been a long, brutal month, but Thursday Luke and Noah will be reunited...by no less than Cyndi Lauper!<br /><br />That's right--this Thursday, Cyndi Lauper will appear on <span style="font-style: italic;">As the World Turns</span> to play fairy godmother to Luke and Noah. The show is promoting the hell out of her appearance, with a Web promo video and one on TV.<br /><br />Tune in Thursday to see Luke and Noah kiss and declare their love for one another!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bIpme5Dyni8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bIpme5Dyni8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUsqqpt-Cd0&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUsqqpt-Cd0&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-2583646128231519422008-05-20T17:19:00.001-05:002008-05-20T17:20:29.633-05:00I Made That!Look, Luke and Noah kissed again!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MgVTF1zQl1M&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MgVTF1zQl1M&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />I get a special sense of joy from this knowing that my bitching about the lack of kissing was one small part of a very large campaign to make this happen.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-5596869267920810342008-05-16T10:10:00.001-05:002008-05-16T10:17:35.762-05:00Congratulations!<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24665277/">Report: DeGeneres, de Rossi plan to marry - Celebrities- msnbc.com</a><br /><br />Ellen may not have had any direct hand in yesterday's ruling, but her bravery a decade ago certainly helped kick off the sea change in attitudes about gay relationships we've seen since.<br /><br />I hope she throws the wedding of the year. She deserves it, and seeing it will help a lot of people understand why gay marriage matters.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-77336783988545623232008-05-15T13:31:00.001-05:002008-05-15T13:32:43.251-05:00Tears of Joy<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24649689/">Gay marriage ban overturned in Calif. - msnbc.com</a><br /><br />Funny how this doesn't seem quite as revolutionary as Massachusetts, and yet...it means just as much , maybe more.<br /><br />And good news: "I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a statement. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this (ruling)."<br /><br />Wow.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-6360846858387346132008-04-23T17:53:00.003-05:002008-04-23T17:54:15.247-05:00LOOK!I cannot believe this happened. I am in utter shock. Also ecstasy.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dd9xCntVqc4&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dd9xCntVqc4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-39303695573733214952008-03-20T18:42:00.002-05:002008-03-20T18:45:57.603-05:00Seize the Day!<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787996688/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title">Amazon.com: Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death: Irvin D. Yalom: Books</a><br /><br />This is a tough book to get into. That's not a knock on Yalom, whose writing is engaging and warm throughout despite a chilly topic. But who really wants to ponder their own mortality for 300 pages?<br /><br />But this is a book that, once you get into it, can change your life. I finished it two months ago, and I am reviewing it now because I've finally had time for it to sink in. I challenge you to read this book and not come away reconsidering your priorities, questioning whether the choices you have made in life are the right ones, wondering if you're letting your fears dominate your life.<br /><br />So much of what we fear, Yalom argues, is really our fear of death, of the transitory nature of existence, of the one way flow of time. And only by facing up to these realities, and to the possibility that this is all there is, can we wake up, grasp what a gift it is to be alive, and seize the opportunity we have in whatever time we have left.<br /><br />In short, this seemingly morbid little tome can wake you from your slumber and get you pursuing happiness again. Give it a shot.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This review has been posted on Amazon.com. </span><span>Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death </span><span style="font-style: italic;">was provided for review as part of Amazon's Vine program.</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-9828062152836761192008-03-03T11:15:00.002-06:002008-03-03T11:23:45.288-06:00Nuke MondayThe <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/03/apontv.missingkisses.ap/index.html">AP article</a> on Luke and Noah has exploded; it's suddenly everywhere!<br /><br />Including the front page of FoxNews.com:<br /><br /><a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/?action=view&current=foxfront.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/foxfront.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And the front page of <span style="font-style: italic;">USA Today</span>'s Life section (in the actual paper):<br /><br /><a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/?action=view&current=usatoday.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/usatoday.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And even, finally, the front page of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Advocate</span>'s Web site:<br /><br /><a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/?action=view&current=Advocatefront.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/Advocatefront.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-35921964972535470172008-03-03T08:04:00.001-06:002008-03-03T08:04:39.020-06:00Going Worldwide<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7274868.stm">BBC NEWS | Entertainment | US soap viewers demand gay kiss</a><br /><br />People are reading about Luke and Noah in Britain this morning!Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-37091412689792887042008-03-02T09:31:00.003-06:002008-03-02T14:23:50.432-06:00Let My People Kiss!<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080302/ap_en_tv/ap_on_tv_missing_kisses;_ylt=AmoirfybhMmb0SpsHD9r2EJxFb8C">Unexpected protest at a soap - Yahoo! News</a><br /><br />And then it was everywhere. The Associated Press has a story by David Bauder out this morning, and it's appearing on the Web sites of major newspapers, and a lot of smaller ones, across the country. Luke and Noah are everywhere!<br /><br />EDIT: Including the <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span>, where the story has a better headline: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-AP-on-TV-Missing-Kisses.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">Unexpected Soap Protest Favors Gay Kiss</a>.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-45811096776174100742008-03-01T11:24:00.001-06:002008-03-01T11:25:48.146-06:00Keep It Coming<a href="http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/03/01/their_soap_smooch_made_history_fans_ask_will_it_happen_again/?page=1">Their soap smooch made history. Fans ask: Will it happen again? - The Boston Globe</a><br /><br />First the <span style="font-style: italic;">LA Times</span>, then the <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Daily News</span>. This morning readers in Boston woke to find Luke and Noah on the front page of their paper's arts section, accompanied by one of the hottest pictures ever committed to print:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/hotness.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj236/rmn21879/hotness.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The media blitz continues!Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649675.post-24581192900470779182008-02-22T08:32:00.001-06:002008-02-22T08:33:05.460-06:00Round Two<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/02/22/2008-02-22_gay_kiss_is_missed_on_soap.html">Gay kiss is missed on soap</a><br /><br />Well, readers in America's two largest cities will learn about Luke and Noah today. The <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Daily News</span> has a piece on the couple and their lack of kissing this morning.<br /><br />Who knew that if a bunch of people wrote to TV critics, those critics might write articles about the subjects of all those letters?Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599030959604499896noreply@blogger.com0