June 29, 2013

Bert & Ernie: Yep, Gay...


Here's the new cover of The New Yorker, featuring Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie cuddling as they watch the US Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality.

Long rumoured to be gay, well as gay as non-drag puppets that are not anatomically correct can be, PBS has always maintained the couple has no sexual orientation.

“It’s amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime,” said Jack Hunter, the artist behind the cover, “Moment of Joy.” Hunter, who originally submitted his image, unsolicited, to a Tumblr, continued, “This is great for our kids, a moment we can all celebrate.”

Love this!


June 27, 2013

Bye Bye DOMA, Hello Marriage Equality!


Google goes gay on a very historic day...









The Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, 
marriage equality is on its way back in California... 
two huge steps forward!

I am a huge fan of marriage equality -- heck, I am gay married to a wonderful guy -- and this is an exciting day, not just for us gay married folk, but for everyone because that is what equality is all about!


Come celeb twitter reactions:

"Big news from the Supreme Court. Goodbye #DOMA #Prop8. Hello #equality." —@BenAffleck

"DOMA-it-just-lost-O Mr. Roboto! So, so happy for Edie, et al." — @ActuallyNPH (Neil Patrick Harris)

"Very pleased about the Supreme Courts rulings today on DOMA and gay marriage in CA." —@WilliamShatner

"You're damn right DOMA is unconstitutional!! #equalitymatters" — @IMKristenBell

"#PROP8 IS GONE! #DOMA IS GONE! #SCOTUS #LoveIsLove" — @ricky_martin

"It's a supremely wonderful day for equality. Prop 8 is over, and so is DOMA. Congratulations everyone. And I mean everyone." — @TheEllenShow

"I'm so happy about today's decision I could kiss a man!  — @JohnStamos

"We stand tall today.#DomaStruckDown So many fought for so long. Be proud, the prejudice are now the minority.   — @ladygaga

"Any straight person complaining about the Supreme Court striking down DOMA should be forced to hire a heterosexual wedding planner." — @Joan_Rivers

oh yeah, and this...


June 26, 2013

Milan Kundera on Dog Love...



"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace."
- Milan Kundera, acclaimed Czech author (now living in exile in France)


June 23, 2013

Man Up With Ross Mathews!


Sometimes I discover a book that changes me, enlightens me, makes me think of things in a new way... Ross Mathews' Man Up! is not one of those books.  It is however sweet and fun and funny, and I highly recommend it as a summer read.

For the uninitiated, Ross Mathews is a mid-level reality TV celebrity, sort of like the Kardashian's, only way less annoying and way more gay. Okay slightly more gay. And he is BFF's with Chelsea Handler and Gwyneth Paltrow, at least one of whom is really likable.

Mathews was a chubby gay kid in a small town, who was an outcast and funny and pop-culture obsessed. As a kid he loved both Little Debbie and Debbie Gibson, and Man Up! is the tale of growing up, coming out, and crashing his way into show biz from super-fan to TV personality.

Man Up! is a comedic memoir, and there are no real tales of woe hear -- it is a light read, more charm than content, and Mathews' squeal-infused voice comes through loud and clear. He is a fun snarky show-biz obsessed geek. If you like him as "Ross The Intern" with Jay Leno, or guest hosting on Chelsea Handler's show, you will like him here.


Mathews has a big heart and a potty mouth, and while if you look for them, there are some positive lessons about following your dream and being yourself -- yep, knew that already -- there is nothing serious or preachy here. I smiled right throughout this happy fluffy book, and laughed out loud several times. Great weekend or vacation read.

Oh yeah, he outs Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, in a kind way....




June 19, 2013

Happy Garfield Day!


Happy 35th birthday Garfield the cat.. pretty good life span for a feline who lives mostly on lasagna!

Garfield was my absolute favourite when I was growing up -- I had books, posters, videotapes, maybe a stuffed animal -- and still makes me chuckle. He is lazy, sarcastic, hates Mondays, loves lasagna, hates diets, eats obsessively, hates mornings and is the self-appointed centre of the universe.

 

Garfield was first published on June 19, 1978; the comic was created by Jim Davis, and the snarky feline's biography says he was born on this date in Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant. 


As of 2013, Garfield is syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. It has spawned books, TV specials and series, two mediocre movies with Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, and generates about a billion dollars of merchandising each year.



 Happy birthday Garfield... feel the love!



June 17, 2013

Modern Family 1, Donald Trump 0...

This may be my new favourite Twitter exchange... ever.

Last week blowhard businessman Donald Trump launched a nasty generic tweet on the state of the world, as he often does, this one about how China is a threat and he is smarter than the rest of us, and was artfully called on his crap by Danny Zuker, a writer for the sitcom Modern Family, and someone I am now absolutely following.

Read and enjoy....





June 15, 2013

See this movie: 50/50

We had another great discovery on Video-on-Demand, 2011's acclaimed but little-seen comedy drama 50/50.

Based on a true story, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, a normal healthy 27-year old surprised by cancer.

This news is delivered by a mumbling robotic doctor with horrible bedside manner. The healthy young man is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given 50/50 chances  of survival: "if you were a casino game, those would be great odds."


Adam: A tumor?
Dr. Ross: Yes.
Adam: Me?
Dr. Ross: Yes.
Adam: That doesn't make any sense though. I mean... I don't smoke, I don't drink... I recycle...


His sarcastic best friend is played by Seth Rogen, who also produced the flick based on his friend's true story. At times 50/50 is about their bro-mance, how the goofy best friend grows up to be a supportive best friend... and yet stays goofy. And crude. And hilarious.


Kyle: You could have totally fucked the shit out of that girl.
Adam: No one wants to fuck me. I look like Voldemort.


Rogen's character uses the cancer to hit on girls for both of them, and provides the comic relief for the movie. Add in a squirm-inducing overbearing mother played by Anjelica Houston, and Pitch Perfect's Anna Kendrick as a new woman on the horizon, and you have a killer cast who all deliver.


I laughed out loud during this movie, from the oral sex jokes to the jokes about the women on The View... not the same joke, for which I am grateful. And I teared up several times like when the itchy girlfriend was a bitch, and when the pussyhound best friend was a mensch, when Adam says goodbye to his mom before surgery.


Adam: Why didn't we go to a barber?
Kyle: That would have been a good idea if we paid someone to do it.
Adam: Using your fucking balls trimmer instead of going to the barber.
Kyle: I never washed them, ever. It's not my balls, it's my asshole. I'm joking.
Adam: You're not joking.


If I determined the Oscar nominations -- and I should, by the way --- then 50/50 would have gotten nominations for Gordon-Levitt as best actor and Houston as best supporting actress. And maybe for Rogen and Kendrick in supporting roles too, and for screenplay and maybe even best film -- hey War Horse was nominated that year, and it blew.

This is a charming manipulative feel-good comedy drama about cancer. And it totally works -- see it.

June 9, 2013

Awesome Tony Number...



Super-talented Neil Patrick Harris did another great job hosting this weekend's Tony Awards featuring the best of Broadway. The show was high energy, lots of fun, and featured wins by some of my faves like Cyndi Lauper and Judith Light.

As for the shows featured, more of a "meh"... I can live without seeing the Annie revival or Matilda: The Musical or Bring It On: The Musical or A Christmas Story: The Musical. I would love to see Kinky Boots, though...

While Harris has had success on Broadway and is now best known for his nine seasons on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, other Broadway stars have not fared as well when they move to TV... and three of them had fun with it on the show.

Here is my favourite number from this year's Tony's, where NPH is joined by stars of the now-cancelled Go On, The New Normal, and Smash:

June 5, 2013

Facebook: The Musical...


Facebook, Facebook, gotta check my Facebook... clever stuff from the people at AVByte!



Now go try to check a status update without hearing this song in your head over and over...

June 1, 2013

Friends With Kids...



Between airplanes and video-on-demand I love catching up on big movies I missed, bad movies I didn't want to pay to see but really want to see, and little movies that came and went quickly ... like Friends With Kids, the 2011 comedy drama about best friends who decide to have a child together, mostly because their friends are all having kids.

While yes I have friends with kids, I don't aspire to have kids, so that sets me apart from the lead characters in Friends With Kids, platonic friends played by Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt.


Most of this cast is a Bridesmaids reunion, and while this flick doesn't have the shock or raunch of that one, is does have the funny, and a sweetness as well.

Thirty-something Julie and Jason have been best friends for years with no romantic interest in each other. He sleeps with someone new every few days, and she's looking for Mr. Right. As they see their friends' lives overtaken by their own young families, Julie and Jason vow they will be different --- they decide to have a child together, share in child rearing, but pursue their own romantic lives.  

Julie wants a baby and a co-parent but not a marriage, so Jason wonders if she wants to be divorced with a child before meeting the man of her dreams... then he volunteers to be the dad; as Jason says to Julie, they are "totally not attracted to each other" and "she doesn't have a lot of time to waste... so why not pop one out and then get looking for your guy?"

Things go well until he meets Megan Fox and she meets Edward Burns. Both seem like perfect mates... and yet jealousies flare up, and we all sort of know where this is going, don't we...?

Friends With Kids is an entertaining  romantic comedy, with some really funny and touching moments.

There is nothing really new or surprising here, and sure the writer (actress Westfeldt) has probably watched Annie Hall and Sex and the City a bit too often, but I enjoyed this one... check it out on a TV or airplane near you!