The Titanic Lives On In New York Today

One of my favorite local blogs Scouting NY has an extensive 2-part post this week about New York City and it's link to the Titanic. New York was the destination of the doomed ship, which sank 100 years ago today. As such, there are a surprising amount of memorials and remnants of the Titanic disaster scattered about the city.

One thing I didn't know about which he features is a Titanic memorial down by the South Street Seaport. I had seen this structure many times but never realized it was a memorial to the nautical disaster. This tower was on top of a building over on the west side for many years then relocated to the seaport. I wonder if anyone will leave flowers there this weekend. Also, Scouting NY has some detailed pictures of the White Star dock where the Carpathia came in with survivors, now an empty pier near 14th Street. You can still read the company's faded name on the steel beams!

Below is a photo of the headquarters of the White Star line.  The building still exists on lower Broadway but the entrance where thousands gathered for word of their loved one's fate in the days after the sinking is now a Subway and a Radio Shack store.  That's a sign of the times if I've ever seen one!

The Devotion Project Debuts New Film & Fundraising Campaign

This week, my friend and fellow filmmaker Tony Osso debut's his latest film from The Devotion Project, a series of shorts about gay and lesbian couples in committed long-term relationships.  This latest short is especially touching, about a couple in Oakland dealing with the challenges of a chronically ill child.  In this moving film, Tony has done it again, telling the story of this beautiful couple in a way that is both honest and touching too.

With the release of this 3rd film in the series, Tony has also started a fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo to keep the project going. You can click here to see a special video starring Tony himself as he explains The Devotion Project and how your donation of even just a few dollars can help.  In a year when marriage equality is being challenged with referendum votes in states like Washington, Maryland and North Carolina, it's important to show the real gay families that are out there and the challenges that they face. Rather than "destroying" marriage as some people claim, all they are doing is loving each other while trying to care for and support their unique families.

NatGeo Has Incredible Titanic Pics On 100th Anniversary

In case you've been living under a rock, this week marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It's a story that's been hard to miss with all the hype and cultural noise, including the re-release of the James Cameron film TITANIC in 3D and a new mini-series debuting this weekend on ABC.

But leave it to National Geographic magazine to produce some stunning and comprehensive commemorative work.This month's issue of the magazine has some incredible new photos of the wreck of the Titanic that have been taken in the last two years.  They include a mosaic composed of thousands of images of the Atlantic seabed (below) where the ship rests that have been stitched together for the first comprehensive look at the wreck. You can zoom in to details, which are truly remarkable in their clarity.  There are also some stunning interiors of the ship, shot in a similar manner by robots shooting multiple images that are then combined.  The one here is of the lush Turkish bath in the ships storied first class section, with its ornate mosaic tiles still mainly intact. Amazing.

There is also an in-depth article about the process of mapping out the site as well as efforts by the salvage company RMS Titanic, Inc. to take a more historic approach to this ships final resting place.

"Bronies" Are Grown Men Obsessed With MY LITTLE PONY

Over the weekend, I read a curious article in the Washington Post STYLE section about "bronies", young men age 18-40 who are somewhat obsessed with My Little Pony.  I thought this was a joke but it is true. The self-proclamied "bronies" gather in groups and watch episodes of a newish TV show based on the popular Hasbro toy which was first introduced back in the 1980s.

The new show MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC sounds like the Teletubbies of it's day, with bright colors and goofy characters with names like Twilight Sparkle. Yes, it's perfect stoner television.  There was no mention of this in the POST article, that's my secret suspicion of what is driving this whole thing. Also, no word on whether any of these dudes are gay, though with interest in characters with Sparkles and Rainbow in their names you gotta wonder, right? Anyway, this new trend is yet another incident of the continuing infantilization of our culture, where adults never quite grow up to become...well, adults.

Local Comix Artist Goes On A Bar Scrawl

Bill Roundy is a writer/comix artist who also sometimes writes for NEXT magazine's online nightlife blog, The Nexus (as I do).  He also does a regular feature for the Brooklyn Paper called "Bar Scrawl" where he does a "draw-up" of a neighborhood boit in the BK with his thoughts on what he sees and hears when he checks out the joints. It's one of my favorite local features in the paper as it introduces me to new and noteworthy nightspots while also having having a sly sense of humor.

This weeks Bar Scrawl is great in that he captures a moment of New York realness--the unforutnately timed arrival of a NYC health inspector. Fortunately, it all turns out OK and the bar is not shut down.  But it's still a nice touch of reality in his drawings which I always enjoy. Check it out and maybe you'll be inspired to check out the actual bar! Happy weekend....

Hillary Goes Viral With A Power-Meme

Hillary Clinton has gone viral this week with a meme based on a striking photo of her wearing supersized-sunglasses while sitting checking her Blackberry on a military plane.  "Texts from Hillary" is now a Tumblr where Hillary sends pithy texts to the famous and infamous.

This all comes on a wave of new attention about whether or not Hillary will run for President in 2016.  It seems odd that this sort of attention is happening when the 2012 Presidential race is far from over.  But that's the nature of the political chattering classes....always a step ahead of the curve.  It's also possibly fueled by the boredom setting in with the current race.

"My High School Boyfriend Was Gay" Is A Fun Show At UCB

On Monday, I went to check out an unusual show at UCB East called "My High School Boyfriend Was Gay".  It's unusual in that it's a show that started as a Tumblr of photos of gay guys with their high school girlfriends.  Now the creator of that blog Damian Bellino (pictured, left) has a live show of songs and storytelling all about when gay men played the heterosexual game back in high school.

I wrote about it for NEXT magazine's NEXUS blog and you can read my full report here. It's hilarious and touching and so much nostalgic fun. The next show is May 7th, with a prom theme. So you know I will be there for that one!

MAD MEN Jumps Into The Presidential Political Fray

Other than Betty Draper's "big" return to the show last night, the other notable event on MAD MEN last night was a tossed away line that her husband said while talking on the phone.  It was a reference to George Romney, the then governor of Michigan, who Henry called "a clown".

Though it was a throwaway line and not part of any of the show's real storylines, the mention caused a political tempest today, with Tagg Romney going on Twitter to defend his dead grandfather.  Slate has the full coverage of the Tweeting that ensued.  All in all, I thought it was a fun reference to something modern in the shows' 60s context.  And clearly a fun political tweak by the show's liberal creators as well.

Trains May Be Returning To The High Line As High Art

This stunning rendering is for a proposed work by famed artist Jeff Koons for The High Line. Called simply "Train" it would suspend a replica of a 1943 steam locomotive over a section of the trestle park that runs from the Meatpacking District to 30th Street. The locomotive is similar to the ones that used to actually run on the High Line long before it was converted to one of the city's most spectacular parks.  Adding the "Train" would certainly be an amazing addition to The High Line. The main problem is the price.

As reported yesterday in the TIMES city room blog, the sculpture would cost 25 million to fabricate and install. The idea is to have it hang over the section of the High Line closest to the Penn Station rail yards, near 30th Street and 10th avenue.  High Line co-founder Robert Hammond hopes that a single donor (Barry Diller, your phone is ringing!) may gift the money needed for the sculpture. Let's hope so as it would be a stunning addition to an already stunning public space.

MAD MEN Goes All GLEE With Its First iTunes Hit

The GLEE-ification of television continues this week with this surprise bit of entertainment news. During the season premiere of MAD MEN, Don's new French-Canadian wife did a little song and a lot of dance during the party scene.  The sooo 60s ditty "Zou Bisou Bisou" was sooo perfect for her and the party in general. So perfect that a YouTube version of the original was soaring past 100,000 hits by Monday. Thinking quickly, the show released actress Jessica Pare's version to iTunes where it instantly made it into the top 100 yesterday.

From the moment that party scene began with a gay boy from the band trying to adjust the lighting, I knew this was destined to be one of the most memorable scenes of this memorable series.  And now it's been semi-immortalized with the downloadable version of Megan's love song to Don (which of course didn't go over so well). I'm not sure if I'll actually download it myself, having already spent 23 bucks on my season pass for the show.  But it is j'adorable...as is Megan, who got a bit of nuance with this song and a kinky S/M scene late in the epic season opener.  Hopefully, there will be more musical numbers to come...and more Megan too.