US Soccer Player Gives Good Face In DIY Video

Despite their admirable run in the World Cup, I'm not a fan of the USA soccer team.  Or any soccer team really.  But I am a believer in the incredible off-field talents of Benny Feilhaber.  


In one of the sexiest and simplest DIY videos around, Benny does an impeccable version of "No Air", doing justice to both the Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks parts.  Benny is apparently straight and has a girlfriend so I will take him at his word....I guess.  But this guy could seriously beat any NYC drag queen, even with his exquisitely expressive hands tied behind his back. 


Most of the comments on the video are about Benny's good looks, gorgeous eyes and that he is obviously gay.  However, his friends and defenders say he is just a big "goofball".  Hmmmm....is this the new sports world code for gay?  

SkyNet--Please Call Your Agent

The geniuses at IBM's research lab in Hawthorne, NY have been working hard on a new supercomputer called Watson.  This computer is so smart that it is actually beating real live humans' at Jeopardy.  It evens answers in the form of a question!   This thing is so good that it has been freaking the other contestants out, leading to all sorts of nervous SkyNet jokes about when it will gain consciousness and nuke their nerdy ass.  


There's a lengthy article about this super-duper computer from last week's TIMES Sunday magazine. It's worth reading if you are a techno-junkie or techno-phobe.  There's exciting and disturbing news here for both camps. 

Texting While Driving: Two PSA Approaches

Texting while driving is a dangerous and deadly habit, not only in this country but in the world.  Oprah started a campaign against it and there have been some disturbing PSA's to try and warn the public. Here's a couple of them from both ends of the spectrum on this issue: a humorous take from a Southern church and an incredibly graphic approach from India.  Which one do you think works best?

The Prince of Sweden Is Kinda Cute

This weekend the Princess of Sweden married her former personal trainer in the biggest European royal wedding since Charles and Di.  After exchanging "ja's" and even shedding some tears, Daniel Westling became officially known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland.  And now I'm unofficially crowning him Kinda Cute.


Unfortunately, the AP, AFP and Reuters declined to cover the event due to restrictions by the Swedish government.  So there is a real dearth of adorkable photos of Prince Daniel.  The Washington Post website has a slideshow of Getty images that are lovely and give a good sense of the Prince's, well, prince-liness.  He was just a commoner but look at him now...a real live Disney character! 


Congrats to the royal couple and here's hoping that their royal marriage truly lasts forever after.

"Nightmare On Elm Street 2" Comes Out of the Closet...Finally

For years, I have been telling anyone and everyone who would listen that the hottest gay studio flick of the 1980's was "Nightmare On Elm Street 2".  Forget all the hype about "Top Gun". Compared to this unlikely gem, Tom and Val only talk a good game. "Nightmare" totally goes all the way: lots of bare asses, S/M in the locker room, and even a full-fledged scene in a gay bar (with New Line co-founder Bob Shaye in a memorable role as a leathery bartender).  


I remember this movie being on cable when I was in college and, everytime it came on, I was riveted to the screen by what I saw.  I remember thinking is anyone else getting all this crazy gayness?!  I couldn't believe this was on TV...then again, it was HBO.  Meanwhile, my roommates were all, "uh...why are you watching that movie for the 10th time?" :)


There is now a comprehensive documentary which tells the history of the "Nightmare" franchise, including an official "outing" of the second installment.  It's called "Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy".  In an 8-minute excerpt posted on YouTube this weekend, the director of the sequel and New Line executives all claim they were clueless about the gay subtext which is actually more like super text.  But the screenwriter, the production designer and the lead actor, Mark Patton were all Mary's and knew exactly what they were doing.


There are some great stories and quotes in this preview and, if you're intrigued to learn more and Freddy and his special friends, you can order the full 2-disc DVD.  But I would encourage you to just rent or Netflix the original movie.  It's a totally campy and weirdly sexy horror treat.  And there is some off-the-hook bad 80's fashion too.

Welcome To The Wild, Wild West

You might think that state-mandated death by firing squad was something that went out with the 20th century.  Well, you might want to think again.


In today's TIMES, there's a fascinating and disturbing article about a death sentence in Utah that was carried out in this Wild West manner just last night.  Though it's their first firing squad execution since 1996, it still seems a bit old-fashioned to be pasting a target to an inmates' jumpsuit and having five prison guards give it their best shot.  Seriously....that's how it went down.  The even stranger twist to all this is that it is the condemned's own choice; it's either firing squad or lethal injection.


Though Utah is no Texas (with a stunning 450 executions since 1977) it is still rather remarkable that this type of punishment and the way it's carried out is still an option.   

Psycho Turns 50

Fifty years ago this week, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" opened in theatres.  Despite a lukewarm critical reaction, this film about a real estate secretary on the lam who makes a fateful stop at the Bates Motel was embraced by audiences and became one of Hitchock's biggest hits.   


This weekend, Kurt Anderson's Studio 360 did a few stories on the film's anniversary.  They even did an interview with the former Playboy bunny who claims she was the one who got knifed in the shower.  Marli Renfro has for years said that she was Janet Leigh's body double for the majority of this iconic scene.  However, Leigh has stuck to her story that she was there for all 77 camera setups, shot over the course of 6 days in December 1959.  But Marli makes a good case in her interview.  Also, given Hollywood's long standing use of body doubles and any actors natural inclination to complain about standing naked in a shower for a week, I'm inclined to believe Marli's story.


If you'd like to read more about the making of this extraordinary film, the Wikipedia entry is very comprehensive.  And there are a number of books on the subject, notably Donald Spotos' "The Dark Side of Genius", "Alfred Hitchock and the Making of Psycho" and the The Truffaut Interviews  which are probably the best in that you get to hear everything direct from the director himself. 

The NY Post Takes On The Velvet Ropes

I used to have an aversion to the NY POST.  More like an allergic reaction, especially during the Bush era with it's jingoistic headlines and far-right angle on all the news.  Lately, I have realized while picking up the stray copy on the subway, that the POST can actually be quite amusing.  Sometimes even intentionally.


Yesterday's POST had an explosive undercover investigation of how strict the velvet ropes were at a bunch of clubs in the Meat Packing district.  The newspaper hired six actors, dressed as stereotypes (i.e. guido, suburban dad, geek)  trying to get into the six clubs.  Who had the most success?  Suburban dad, of course.  I say of course because he is the only one who looks like he could easily afford an $18 martini.  

Grindr In The White House

Two enterprising female reporters for the Washington Examiner had an idea; they created a fake profile and signed in on Grindr while in the White House press room.  Grindr is an iPhone app which is like GPS-aided personals and a high-tech tool for cruising.  Apparently, they found more than a few gay men in the West Wing looking for some action. Not to the mention the Senate.   And, of course, they hit the motherlode standing outside the Pentagon.  Go figure.  


You can check out their YouTube video report below.  Though there style is a little rough, their idea was crafty.  Next stop...the Supreme Court.  Quick before David Souter leaves.

A Stroll Through Green-Wood Cemetery

Last weekend, I hit the BK for a field trip to Green-Wood Cemetary.  Set amongst some gorgeous hills near Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood, it's one of the oldest cemetaries in the city and easily the most beautiful.  It's home to many celebrity graves for folks like Leonard Bernstein, Fred Ebb, Peter Cooper and Jean-Michel Basquiat, just to name a few.
  
Founded in 1838, Green-Wood was recently designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006 not just for it's role as a cemetary but also for the Battle of Brooklyn.  This was a famous fight during the Revolutionary War between the British and colonial troops on the highest natural point in Kings County....a hilltop with stunning views of the city and the Harbor, thus a site that was strategically essential. 


Anyway, here's some photos I took in my wanderings.  As you can see, it's definitely one of the creepier cemetaries around.  Lots of mausoleums and statuary, as was the custom in the 1800's.