The current edition of T, the new-ish monthly style companion to the New York Times Sunday magazine, features men’s fashion (via Obliquity).
» Previous Times magazine special, 14 Mar. 2004.
» Photos from fashion shows for this coming fall and spring, from GQ UK.
MadTV’s tenth season opener, which airs tonight on Fox, features a sketch called “The Amazing Presidential Race” with guests Mirna and Charla from CBS’s The Amazing Race. The TiVo is set. Say it with me one last time: “Hurry up, Charla!”
But speaking of Fox, Thom’s and my semi-guilty pleasure is The Complex: Malibu, which I found out about on Fredo‘s blog. Couples compete by renovating rooms in a beachfront condo complex, which are then judged according to how much value they add to the building. Brad and Lew, the gay couple, who had been winning each week so far, were finally “evicted” on yesterday’s episode. Guess we’ll keep watching, if only to see Barney and Rose (a.k.a. Archie and Edith Bunker) get their comeuppance.
Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman give their farewell performance as the irrepressible musical duo Kiki and Herb at Carnegie Hall tomorrow night. It would be nice to go up for this show, but I’m definitely happy I got to see them perform at the Rufus concert in New York earlier this year. Kudos to those two.
Do you have the Carnegie Hall show all planned out?
BOND: It’s not that fun if people know what’s going to happen.
MELLMAN: I’m not freaking out about performing, just about everything else. My entire family’s coming. I had to tell my dad that he should wear a suit.
Fans can expect some surprise celebrity guests. What else?
BOND: We’ll probably do “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” because we did that at our very first show. That’s always been our favorite.
“Once upon a time I was falling in love / But now I’m only falling apart.”
BOND: It kind of encapsulates everything.
» “Swan Songs as a Duo Plan Life’s Second Act,” New York Times, 18 Sept. 2004.
» “Grand Illusions: Down memory lane with Kiki and Herb,” New Yorker, 19 May 2003.
Last weekend Thom and I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival (this year’s theme is 1536: the year of the three queens…), where we met up with Sheldon and Gretchen, et al. Not having been to one of these things before, I didn’t really know what to expect apart from the general period vibe. I had a really good time. There’s quite a village built out there, with lots of shops and stage shows. So we strolled around admiring the various wares and entertainments, all the while snacking and drinking as well. (Thanks to a few beers, I had a good buzz going.) People-watching was fun too; there were quite a few cute guys, some made even cuter by their period garb. We didn’t get all dressed up for the fair, but while there we went into a couple of clothing shops and tried on some pieces (Moresca had some vests I liked), and I started to warm to the idea of going in costume. Perhaps next time.
Thom had his digital camera and took a few photos of the joust and of a Tudor cottage, one of the many buildings on the site. I would’ve brought my camera too, but I had misplaced it recently. Just the other day Thom found it under the bed. Go figure.
» The Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville runs weekends through Oct. 24.
Rufus has put together a playlist for iTunes:
“Dead Skunk,” Loudon Wainwright III (Track 1): “This was a hit my dad had in the ’70s. He has a love/hate relationship with this song like many other artists have with their hits. One story is that a well-known TV show, in accordance with his performance of the song, built a massive skunk that at the end of the tune would flatulate (presumably odorless) huge billows of smoke. He didn’t sing it, and I will always admire him for that act.”
“Barracuda,” Heart (Track 2): “Rarely has there been a more camp moment than watching a drag queen cover this song.”
“I Want You,” Bob Dylan (Track 3): “Proof that it was OK that Bob Dylan went electric.”
Rigoletto, “Caro Nome,” Joan Sutherland (Track 4): “No one in the history of singing could top the performance of this aria.”
“Love Is a Stranger,” Eurythmics (Track 5): “This song ignited my childhood brain and hurled my into puberty.”
Les Nuits d’été, “Absence,” Leontyne Price (Track 6): “The first time I heard this was in the car and the experience almost caused a massive accident. Utterly transfixing.”
“Mystery Train,” Elvis Presley (Track 7): “No matter how many times I hear this (and I’m sure I’m not the only one), I am transported to the nether regions of music.”
“I Put a Spell on You,” Nina Simone (Track 8): “Counteless times, after the wreckage of a failed love attempt, this song has come in handy and hopefully worked.”
“Rufus Is a T*t Man,” Loudon Wainwright III (Track 9): “Not many people can boast a song written about them breastfeeding.”
“Night And Day,” Fred Astaire (Track 10): “When I was a kid piercing through the latest pop tracks and videos was always a vision of Fred Astaire. He always reminded me of what true talent was.”
» Playlist by Rufus Wainwright at iTunes music store, 14 Sept. 2004.
» Official website.
Today UCSB’s Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military released a new study on the impact of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on U.S. military effectiveness in the Middle East.
The study concludes that gays and lesbians serve openly in the Middle East without undermining unit cohesion or the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. When gays are out, they report greater success in bonding, morale, professional advancement, levels of commitment and retention, and access to essential support services.
It also finds that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” impairs the capacity of gay troops to develop bonds of trust, minimize stress, prepare for deployment, focus on their mission, advance professionally, and access support services, including medical and psychological consultations. And, these effects appear to have an impact not just on gays, but on those around them, by creating an atmosphere of dishonesty and distrust as well as disrespect for the law and the principles of integrity that are essential to military service. […]
The study is based on thirty in-depth interviews with gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since Oct. 7, 2001, as well as on field observations made stateside. It also draws on secondary research and interviews with government officials, academics and other experts on military affairs. All research was conducted between February and September 2004.
» “Gays and Lesbians at War: Military Service in Iraq and Afghanistan Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’” (Word format), Nathaniel Frank, 15 Sept. 2004 (via Rogue Slayer Law Student).
Here’s a quick roundup of movies we’ve seen recently:
Garden State: I love movies like this. Understated, with strong acting and writing. (And a great soundtrack, by the way.) It’s a story I can sort of identify with: you go back home, and for better or worse, it’s not the same place. Kudos to writer-director-actor Zach Braff. Really, go see it. Now.
Die Mommie Die!: I had expected this to be more campy and over the top than it turned out to be, but it’s still very funny (lots of great one-liners) and impressively pays homage to femme fatale movies of the early 20th century. Charles Busch, who plays the lead in drag, is a riot. The eclectic cast also includes Jason Priestley and Frances Conroy.
Bright Young Things: Thom had told me about a contest sponsored by Metro Weekly in which they were giving away passes to an exclusive screening, and so I entered and won! It’s a lovely, sparkling movie that delves into the hedonistic world of upper-crust parties in 1930s England, with a cast that mixes well-known actors (Dan Ackroyd, Stockard Channing, Peter O’Toole) with some refreshing lesser-known ones (Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily Mortimer, Fenella Woolgar). By the way, director Stephen Fry–a genius, I tell you–was a guest recently on Morning Edition and gave an excellent interview; an extended version is available on the NPR website.
About a Boy: On Sunday afternoon I was browsing through the About a Boy soundtrack on iTunes, and got the urge to see this movie again, so I popped in the DVD. Since I had seen it once before, I decided to watch part of it with the directors’ (the Weitz brothers) commentary, which is pretty good. I like this movie a lot. Good performances and chemistry all around; it’s nice to see Hugh Grant in a role somewhat atypical of his oeuvre, and oh yeah, he looks hot.
I love how Thom and I are being all catty to each other on Jere’s blog, on an entry about Stanford. Don’t worry, Jere, we won’t further hijack your comment space. Especially since Thom and I can just as easily trash talk each other’s alma mater face-to-face.
Then again, I can’t vouch for Thom’s restraint now that Steve has suggested the phrase “Northwestern of the East.” Nice.